tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26650963871450329712024-03-13T17:51:54.393-04:00beacon st manorSagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-46506715283625562372014-09-06T21:49:00.000-04:002014-09-06T21:49:57.135-04:00New house, new blog<div class="graf--p" name="f761" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Beacon Street Manor, like us, has moved! Check it out under its new name at <a href="https://medium.com/malden-place">https://medium.com/malden-place</a>.</span></div>
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Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-80697981818465114992014-08-30T22:47:00.000-04:002014-08-30T22:47:24.174-04:00Goodbye to Beacon Street<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We said goodbye to Beacon Street Manor today, and it's bittersweet. On the one hand, w</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">e're very excited for what comes next. Our closing has been delayed briefly, so for now we're staying in a pet-friendly motel in the suburbs. We're hopeful that we'll close very soon, and as soon as we do I'll share an update about the home-buying process. I just don't want to jinx it or share too much while the final stages are still unfolding. For now, I'll just say that it's been stressful but we've been so grateful for the incredible support from our friends and family, as well as our broker and attorney who are doing all they can to ensure that in the end this all works out.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">But it's also sad to leave. W</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">e lived there four years, the longest we've lived anywhere since our childhood homes. Some wonderful things happened there and in our lives during that time -- new and deepening friendships, new jobs, graduate school, getting engaged, getting married, families gathered for Thanksgiving, countless race bibs amas</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">sed, loved ones embarking on exciting life adventures, untold gallons of paint and unauthorized improvements to the apartment, and all the intangibles that leave us very different people than when we moved in. It's where my passion for DIY began and flourished, and I put so much time and energy into making the space our own. It's hard to say goodbye.</span><br />
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Bedroom</div>
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Living room</div>
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Study (and our final picnic lunch in the apartment)</div>
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So that's it, goodbye to Beacon Street and we're ready for homeownership!<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-56020146147913314182014-08-07T16:28:00.000-04:002014-08-07T16:28:35.775-04:00Wedding DIY: DecorI think this is the last wedding-related post, with an assortment of DIY decor I haven't written about yet.<br />
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<b><i>Seating sign</i></b><br />
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Weddings are full of traditions, many of which we embraced, and others we threw to the wind because it wasn't what we wanted or it didn't work for our families (since both sets of our parents are divorced). For instance, I had both my parents walk me down the aisle:<br />
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I didn't have a maid of honor, just five wonderful bridesmaids:<br />
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And both our brothers and dads gave toasts during the reception:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-QchDTRoYPIMBQDJIPXT8_HpFtNNDErCLPAKqst74_AyfSRtU7lO9n9_vnmdexm-3-Mkp9szK1yjwy-gx7RWSkGbMo2sOdR1RXusNn3wa4oWXXEf6-52X9jFIvNuoaQEVY3IS0F7IQc/s1600/140614TROh020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-QchDTRoYPIMBQDJIPXT8_HpFtNNDErCLPAKqst74_AyfSRtU7lO9n9_vnmdexm-3-Mkp9szK1yjwy-gx7RWSkGbMo2sOdR1RXusNn3wa4oWXXEf6-52X9jFIvNuoaQEVY3IS0F7IQc/s1600/140614TROh020.jpg" height="640" width="442" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_5Ezxcf-Ihsf34rBFrGZSEErPtxvaxO3XzEC8hDIzYDBnf7vtYf3yHX60o_EsCM_YpMpNrifLd2-G3udN95DgW-K7bVPmDfqlyje0ky9b5fFvqsTCYFYkmwqaHCPoVV9T8yykh-0oSI/s1600/140614TROh025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_5Ezxcf-Ihsf34rBFrGZSEErPtxvaxO3XzEC8hDIzYDBnf7vtYf3yHX60o_EsCM_YpMpNrifLd2-G3udN95DgW-K7bVPmDfqlyje0ky9b5fFvqsTCYFYkmwqaHCPoVV9T8yykh-0oSI/s1600/140614TROh025.jpg" height="640" width="444" /></a></div>
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We didn't do a father-daughter dance, but I did grab my dad during the reception for an informal dance:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-16gLWEpP8v790iQsAkkP0scRiXBTrv70J-yb_aqvCBSN1GnoPm_o91h_XAdfMAd20USRqkJ83EXoV8mpBGSK9kskmrCuUcqoOEaSI6uhIZKXgIKqD33HVtxKWYRONAS6DF5ro41RvYo/s1600/IMG_5266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-16gLWEpP8v790iQsAkkP0scRiXBTrv70J-yb_aqvCBSN1GnoPm_o91h_XAdfMAd20USRqkJ83EXoV8mpBGSK9kskmrCuUcqoOEaSI6uhIZKXgIKqD33HVtxKWYRONAS6DF5ro41RvYo/s1600/IMG_5266.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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We also didn't do a bouquet toss or garter toss.</div>
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Anyway, one of the other traditions we eschewed was having "bride's friends and family" sit on the left during the ceremony and "groom's friends and family" sit on the right. We thought people might be uncertain, though, so I made a sign to put out at the ceremony letting people know.</div>
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I knew I wanted to make a sign, but wasn't quite sure how I would do it. Then one day in the spring I was walking to school, and saw a used and partially broken kids' easel on the sidewalk:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYRblwQn_V5s3g483Mc9R439OpsVOOVgoBuAYnW_6CmteblFgoIXlzDSf_9d_0PKzwEUwiG232TSoO6SVMXZTlW69dUVX7wUxhk9JsT2dEiUUmDW_eGejTFrZnBginCOkrpZfzQLSRoc/s1600/IMG_0577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYRblwQn_V5s3g483Mc9R439OpsVOOVgoBuAYnW_6CmteblFgoIXlzDSf_9d_0PKzwEUwiG232TSoO6SVMXZTlW69dUVX7wUxhk9JsT2dEiUUmDW_eGejTFrZnBginCOkrpZfzQLSRoc/s1600/IMG_0577.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPJIALe7DY0AvlwS22LFtj5W2b0NlPeaHPbvC7u9kHkdiOAuay6bZ3ja_7EMtlwZPzg_KmXdtxPd6F-myCw9Cf-fw9LrNckWEIgH9kcQ5HxO320e-N9QKAnMcNpUsJkENKtR04Lmjv-w/s1600/IMG_0578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPJIALe7DY0AvlwS22LFtj5W2b0NlPeaHPbvC7u9kHkdiOAuay6bZ3ja_7EMtlwZPzg_KmXdtxPd6F-myCw9Cf-fw9LrNckWEIgH9kcQ5HxO320e-N9QKAnMcNpUsJkENKtR04Lmjv-w/s1600/IMG_0578.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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It definitely was not looking good, but I thought it was easily (easel-y? har har) fixable.</div>
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First I sawed the legs off, to make it a little less unwieldy and easel-like:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNg9OF-vP-dXBpaVSPxnqWVL7RJEqjpsl846TisQmKrRjGqfKVhsWaPr3uM8hk74yavlY-a2wrneBc5TchHvXlDOQ4GdNT-YVgn9e2V-E-jUOXEUzC-242hp4m3ABBmxVBbcE9ZJTSPVk/s1600/IMG_0582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNg9OF-vP-dXBpaVSPxnqWVL7RJEqjpsl846TisQmKrRjGqfKVhsWaPr3uM8hk74yavlY-a2wrneBc5TchHvXlDOQ4GdNT-YVgn9e2V-E-jUOXEUzC-242hp4m3ABBmxVBbcE9ZJTSPVk/s1600/IMG_0582.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Then I applied a few coats of turquoise paint that I already had from past projects (and the same paint I used on the basket for the ceremony programs). Here's the photo I took when I realized that it matched my nail polish:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOZGFfUsJ1NFxhtxhTE87Kp5c1Ilhb_M1todr5CT7F9hZecOBm5xH_7nZuwxEW_geEqJiCdI7bBlB2QZugLR0ghWxBt847DgerBJshNYHu1Z42Es0h28LGaVNsFxmyA55p3CxClv9Kz8/s1600/IMG_0584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOZGFfUsJ1NFxhtxhTE87Kp5c1Ilhb_M1todr5CT7F9hZecOBm5xH_7nZuwxEW_geEqJiCdI7bBlB2QZugLR0ghWxBt847DgerBJshNYHu1Z42Es0h28LGaVNsFxmyA55p3CxClv9Kz8/s1600/IMG_0584.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Then I used a chalkboard pen (which is bolder than regular chalk) to write on the chalkboard side of the sign (I just painted over the whiteboard side). I used an online photo I saw for inspiration. Here's how it turned out:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMZNs3ss8gm0MtBlJ540QrS7SuVacOsfAfz2p35C7m2tAbWxW6w422AHFUPOOpduTqJ4a2AAIgUkzvShvGo-h050LABG3u_wByEd7Ojcze1_cnuiKv-KfWeVst0xVaJnXboF1sZLUQt8/s1600/IMG_0586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMZNs3ss8gm0MtBlJ540QrS7SuVacOsfAfz2p35C7m2tAbWxW6w422AHFUPOOpduTqJ4a2AAIgUkzvShvGo-h050LABG3u_wByEd7Ojcze1_cnuiKv-KfWeVst0xVaJnXboF1sZLUQt8/s1600/IMG_0586.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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And here it is at the wedding:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrRx7AoFC1ZqOSdUN3B8o9qsPd-_DzXDvjR_7dIdas-ra097Fk4ojyqiVJ9v5rSpwjiTpwzj9XEGtsCbzY_47khG896wbrpxQ4tENymgnJ9Aot3UaOBUTR3J4pbODLYT-_nIttIshy6c/s1600/140614TROj002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrRx7AoFC1ZqOSdUN3B8o9qsPd-_DzXDvjR_7dIdas-ra097Fk4ojyqiVJ9v5rSpwjiTpwzj9XEGtsCbzY_47khG896wbrpxQ4tENymgnJ9Aot3UaOBUTR3J4pbODLYT-_nIttIshy6c/s1600/140614TROj002.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Wish Tree</i></b></div>
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For our guest book, we made a wish tree -- branches in a vase and tags that people could write wishes and comments on and then hang on the tree.<br />
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For the tags, I bought plain ivory gift tags off of Etsy, and then some turquoise string and pink string (in line with the color scheme) that I tied on each one to hang them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOb1HJ6AzaXrC4VTI3Y2yvDQ9FLwjgXhKm1GVhvwNEDh5hJrqm3tXn2wqi6iJJu1_KvSb4UOlX7Igv1me6H1Jhda8gr6eQ7F0_ZcZNXlJCuBAzlw3msTmK7B4xCLDQuh75k1aMXldXxk/s1600/140614TROj014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOb1HJ6AzaXrC4VTI3Y2yvDQ9FLwjgXhKm1GVhvwNEDh5hJrqm3tXn2wqi6iJJu1_KvSb4UOlX7Igv1me6H1Jhda8gr6eQ7F0_ZcZNXlJCuBAzlw3msTmK7B4xCLDQuh75k1aMXldXxk/s1600/140614TROj014.jpg" height="640" width="520" /></a></div>
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The branches I found in my neighbor's brush pile, which had been there for months (and after the wedding, I returned them to the same pile...). I put them in a vase I already had, and filled it with decorative stones I also already had to keep the branches in place:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb8770m8beHo6K75kwOgjt4XbizR15VZBqrrxH-rBr0CNzygVuUuS-bVnLYeYKyu8MxVEygn1FW9j7QPVhph_rIZHrs-ffaXr6Wufaj4aH5RfYJm6cwKN1bvR_4l0FlAh6s93DvqLB4M/s1600/140614TROi017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb8770m8beHo6K75kwOgjt4XbizR15VZBqrrxH-rBr0CNzygVuUuS-bVnLYeYKyu8MxVEygn1FW9j7QPVhph_rIZHrs-ffaXr6Wufaj4aH5RfYJm6cwKN1bvR_4l0FlAh6s93DvqLB4M/s1600/140614TROi017.jpg" height="432" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgolQitwMQjp20M1OFZr10ofjrRRYzeAEjU16aTjqTPcDDC0PUQ3EGlvD2ND5vHeHFTIyINg_-YR4tDjJYEHrmIIWAct7Lrp9g_ULlcjTS47lJdJk3QKWToYk_0eT1Y0nzVd0XCSXEj0/s1600/140614TROi015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgolQitwMQjp20M1OFZr10ofjrRRYzeAEjU16aTjqTPcDDC0PUQ3EGlvD2ND5vHeHFTIyINg_-YR4tDjJYEHrmIIWAct7Lrp9g_ULlcjTS47lJdJk3QKWToYk_0eT1Y0nzVd0XCSXEj0/s1600/140614TROi015.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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We got some really sweet messages. And some confusing ones.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV16Fdhl0opg-RKsDHL0iVCcm24F3bfVDHLJV39Ip1hl3erMw9lHbVM54pk4ssM4JMgCk3x0q23f7qE4Jt8EGeNG7OeldYfNnqWIWB1PtEX69R1M1XskZFuEcw3UkwrFOreMMa_Q4LjCU/s1600/140614TROj005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV16Fdhl0opg-RKsDHL0iVCcm24F3bfVDHLJV39Ip1hl3erMw9lHbVM54pk4ssM4JMgCk3x0q23f7qE4Jt8EGeNG7OeldYfNnqWIWB1PtEX69R1M1XskZFuEcw3UkwrFOreMMa_Q4LjCU/s1600/140614TROj005.jpg" height="640" width="458" /></a></div>
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Once we move, I'm going to find a way to display the tags (maybe laying them all out in a grid and framing them).</div>
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<b><i>Table settings</i></b><br />
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For table decorations, we went fairly simple. We used the rectangular tables that came for free with the venue, so I wanted something that would but long and low (whereas many centerpiece ideas are good for circular tables). From the beginning, I liked the idea of a burlap table runner down the center. But then I decided to go with brown craft paper runners, which were easier and less expensive. I bought it in big rolls (from Michael's), cut it in half down the middle to get the right width, and then cut 8' lengths for the 6' tables and 10' lengths for the 8' tables.<br />
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Then I used the colored and patterned scrapbook paper I mentioned <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-07-23T14:21:00-04:00&max-results=1&start=3&by-date=false">here</a> to add some color. I used three pieces per table spaced evenly and turned diagonal to the craft paper. We had a small flower arrangement on each of the outer two pieces (the flower arrangements were very simple and done by our awesome florist in pasta sauce jars that I'd been saving/hoarding for about year). Then on the center piece of paper, we had a candle holder (I collected blue glass candle holders from goodwill over the course of 22 months), a table number (which I made out of turquoise cardstock), and photos of each of us at the age of the table number (so us 3 years old at Table 3). We also had a few additional electric votives scattered around that the caterer provided (we weren't allowed to have actual votives for fire safety reasons).<br />
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Here be some photos:<br />
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The room all set up:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9s3C3nTy09frzldCxVm8Yuo5Hf4DnZh2wSH048SpJmX68bsxeCE3zKliVi8f4JiOn6PurukurcWS1TRGrHC_h6gVwqQarHd8ZwwG64sgphSM8DX4dMNaGNGYhPwDscxdtM10J-KoSHY/s1600/140614TROj015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9s3C3nTy09frzldCxVm8Yuo5Hf4DnZh2wSH048SpJmX68bsxeCE3zKliVi8f4JiOn6PurukurcWS1TRGrHC_h6gVwqQarHd8ZwwG64sgphSM8DX4dMNaGNGYhPwDscxdtM10J-KoSHY/s1600/140614TROj015.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Looking down a table (they don't have plates on them because the caterers served the salads plated right at the beginning of the reception):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4WjBG68TwRfpyWA7fvGXlWmxEe0-BevHYlRSz2MyBVqE7WVpoqLextvFvPod9_LyXjchXoF2D8t5OUGRBDjulejaI0DcBLTYLbmw5MTPGgX-e5OsNv8o20IQmljQdEGnflIVCTzjBzg/s1600/140614TROj009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4WjBG68TwRfpyWA7fvGXlWmxEe0-BevHYlRSz2MyBVqE7WVpoqLextvFvPod9_LyXjchXoF2D8t5OUGRBDjulejaI0DcBLTYLbmw5MTPGgX-e5OsNv8o20IQmljQdEGnflIVCTzjBzg/s1600/140614TROj009.jpg" height="640" width="490" /></a></div>
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More flowers:</div>
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Photos and table numbers:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJldde8a_DKpuqssCLbfzO6D73pQyRUyvYWU_Ftc6QZDQKMNw3lKY615m-rSZjR_7RPKgBsBll2sPtb-0-9LDq3W-M6wsWdZje0jFq1SShpyzYWhWizLZZweJjs3hSQIrIu0hADnqcofs/s1600/140614TROj007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJldde8a_DKpuqssCLbfzO6D73pQyRUyvYWU_Ftc6QZDQKMNw3lKY615m-rSZjR_7RPKgBsBll2sPtb-0-9LDq3W-M6wsWdZje0jFq1SShpyzYWhWizLZZweJjs3hSQIrIu0hADnqcofs/s1600/140614TROj007.jpg" height="482" width="640" /></a></div>
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(In case you're wondering, yes those are binder clips holding the photos up)</div>
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From above:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbMj7S4fFL6_lkZlqjY3RYj2_wa16LaqqVx5dr9V_v3BTTyFZUDv-ybrZszDdsP1_ab4v95KBqXGtsDbANZhvJIVOM6WKctGDgJuERRe9FTU74TbtMNYI37fqkVqD1NsjoN6qApExF6k/s1600/140614TROi038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbMj7S4fFL6_lkZlqjY3RYj2_wa16LaqqVx5dr9V_v3BTTyFZUDv-ybrZszDdsP1_ab4v95KBqXGtsDbANZhvJIVOM6WKctGDgJuERRe9FTU74TbtMNYI37fqkVqD1NsjoN6qApExF6k/s1600/140614TROi038.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And more:</div>
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I liked how simple they were, but they still felt elegant.<br />
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So...I guess that's it? Wedding blogging over! Now it's time to pack up our apartment, close on our house, and move! So excited.Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-21081434731794909302014-08-04T11:13:00.001-04:002014-08-04T11:13:07.944-04:00DIY wedding: Printed materialsPrinted materials is one big area that we DIYed for the wedding. This included:<br />
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* Save-the-Dates<br />
* Invitations<br />
* Ceremony programs<br />
* Signage<br />
* Escort cards<br />
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<i><b>Save-the-Dates</b></i><br />
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For the Save-the-Dates, we chose to design something simple in Adobe Photoshop Elements (a more basic form of Photoshop that also comes with a much lower price tag -- I use it for photo editing and it's pretty powerful). We just used one of our favorite photos of the two of us, I applied a depth of field filter that kept the two of us sharp while adding some blur to the background, and then I layered on some simple text with a moderately bad pun:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjDWGqQJvh3u7BoxllFlxS1NaU9yuGw7Ee0sas9r5jhwIIa9ldwAwH0Kf4t0W3lLOdmyQ9Cws6jWQUVBzs2yESfQD8ZiHulDCyui4kepd4eLTk7MLJ50KGBMRUCFxCGXIYDi9iyPdmDM/s1600/Save+the+Date.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjDWGqQJvh3u7BoxllFlxS1NaU9yuGw7Ee0sas9r5jhwIIa9ldwAwH0Kf4t0W3lLOdmyQ9Cws6jWQUVBzs2yESfQD8ZiHulDCyui4kepd4eLTk7MLJ50KGBMRUCFxCGXIYDi9iyPdmDM/s1600/Save+the+Date.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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We chose to email the vast majority of them both for financial and environmental reasons, but we printed a dozen or so hard copies to mail to close family who we thought would want the keepsake as well as older relatives who might not take to the email. We printed them at CVS pharmacy as "cards," so they were on a heavier cardstock with the photo on one side and blank white on the other side. Then we popped them in envelopes to make sure they didn't get marked up in the mail like postcards sometimes do. All told, we spent about $10 total on the Save-the-Dates, just the printing and postage costs.<br />
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<b><i>Invitations</i></b><br />
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The invitations I purchased at Michael's -- they come unassembled and blank except for the design (in this case, turquoise love birds -- see post on colors and theme....), and then we wrote the text, printed them on our home printer, and then assembled them. The component parts included an outer envelope (for everything), inner envelope (to return the RSVP card), insert with invite text, RSVP card, folded invitation and RSVP holder, and twine to tie around the holder.<br />
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(Note: this photo is after I'd already printed on them)</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQo04P2iLzuDM6bkYPNCrFPfaT0muPz1jjzPU75tlhXKpQuwu98-ih400NaFOjJtDi4YeAMl-fFC_LV2-a0RAD1L15Iu32zau557130GaLRzxNhJgUoMUmaJuDssX-qPPm-YPSNJpa3M/s1600/IMG_0717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQo04P2iLzuDM6bkYPNCrFPfaT0muPz1jjzPU75tlhXKpQuwu98-ih400NaFOjJtDi4YeAMl-fFC_LV2-a0RAD1L15Iu32zau557130GaLRzxNhJgUoMUmaJuDssX-qPPm-YPSNJpa3M/s1600/IMG_0717.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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We printed on the envelopes rather than hand lettering them, but I picked a font that somewhat resembled handwriting (La Belle Aurore, available for free download <a href="http://www.dafont.com/la-belle-aurore.font">here</a>). I used an excel spreadsheet to track all our wedding planning including the guest list, so I just used mail merge to prepare the envelopes with the right names and addresses (sending just one per household).<br />
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Here's a close up on the various pieces:<br />
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RSVP card and envelope</div>
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Folder invitation and RSVP holder with RSVP card and envelope tucked inside</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2GZUFhoPM36j7WMeG_sa1OTJal4o-iY7CpCFIobN0QVQ-VeO21S1y7NEASU07RV9lupB7je3PB8vOBvVQjsFPrUZUYDlqyWHojnmAMxFlMzFJugPCHhwDuAbRS7hlYOd9ZEkQI_2lnU/s1600/IMG_0721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2GZUFhoPM36j7WMeG_sa1OTJal4o-iY7CpCFIobN0QVQ-VeO21S1y7NEASU07RV9lupB7je3PB8vOBvVQjsFPrUZUYDlqyWHojnmAMxFlMzFJugPCHhwDuAbRS7hlYOd9ZEkQI_2lnU/s1600/IMG_0721.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Final invitation with twine tied around it</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPfZnPtctEjziSa6m2dPlpfDYmoftwMQ8dcMZmpzTgf0tDJ-Iv7dIUUOQrMDmxe31jkNsXOgQ_QgiJCEPaXWPjg8cghOa_mr-4BhEScBAr8FCm6Zc72ibOWyAP3sAcsAdehYJ1A4bBhM/s1600/IMG_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPfZnPtctEjziSa6m2dPlpfDYmoftwMQ8dcMZmpzTgf0tDJ-Iv7dIUUOQrMDmxe31jkNsXOgQ_QgiJCEPaXWPjg8cghOa_mr-4BhEScBAr8FCm6Zc72ibOWyAP3sAcsAdehYJ1A4bBhM/s1600/IMG_0726.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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Addressed and stamped outer envelope<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoDfvkpvDZJuGLipcUC7MtD1f56YhqjrdGYntih0U2sCwt1_cfBJNVhp_1hRjfGpCMMnUOg_2nYHOzlekNq3j9_MMp9dWWho6bkRXW8YRJfLf62zqaDsz476HBkrhcuEncOOoksRTC9w/s1600/IMG_0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoDfvkpvDZJuGLipcUC7MtD1f56YhqjrdGYntih0U2sCwt1_cfBJNVhp_1hRjfGpCMMnUOg_2nYHOzlekNq3j9_MMp9dWWho6bkRXW8YRJfLf62zqaDsz476HBkrhcuEncOOoksRTC9w/s1600/IMG_0727.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I loved the invitations, but unfortunately I also found that the text got a bit smudged by the time it reached our guests in the mail (and by the time the RSVPs made it back to us). I think it's because the printer had a hard time printing on the heavier paper and cardstock, and it would have worked better if I had adjusted the settings on the fuser (these are printer things that I only barely understand). But oh well, you live and learn and there's no use getting too bent out of shape about it.</div>
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<b><i>Ceremony programs</i></b></div>
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I knew I wanted us to have ceremony programs, and we also needed a printout of the words and music for the two hymns that we sang during the ceremony. For the programs, I designed something simple in Word that was front and back and printed two programs per piece of paper (landscape orientation), and then printed them on white cardstock at home and cut them to size with a paper cutter at Kinkos. Then I used the custom stamp that I mentioned in the previous post to stamp the top of the programs -- half in turquoise ink, half in coral.<br />
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Front:</div>
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Back:</div>
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For the hymns, I just did a simple layout to print front and back on plain white paper so that when folded in half each one was a 4-sided booklet.</div>
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I got a simple basket at Michael's, painted a turquoise stripe around the bottom, and then weighed down the programs and hymn booklets using rocks I'd swiped from the banks of a river near Sam's childhood home in Pennsylvania when I was there in May.<br />
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<b><i>Signage</i></b></div>
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For the various signs throughout the reception, I just designed them in Word using free fonts that I liked and then printed them out and popped them in frames I already had on hand. For instance:</div>
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<b><i>Escort cards</i></b></div>
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I already wrote about making the escort cards in my post about guest favors, which you can see <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/07/wedding-diy-guest-favors-and-escort.html">here</a>.</div>
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We didn't do individual menus for each seat, as we decided to have the salads pre-plated when people came in from cocktail hour (so there wouldn't have been a good place to put the menus). So that's about all the printed materials we had, nothing too exciting but we saved a fair chunk of change doing it ourselves -- about $150 all told for everything mentioned above, including mailing the invitations. Not too bad given how much custom invitations, escort cards, and programs can cost!</div>
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Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-26882684111088668902014-07-31T14:38:00.000-04:002014-07-31T14:38:34.146-04:00Wedding DIY: Guest Favors and Escort CardsFor our guest favors, I did a lot of research into various ideas that seemed to represent us as a couple, or our wedding. We were originally thinking of doing a lobster bake, so we could have given lobster crackers (those metal things you use to crack open lobsters) or custom lobster bibs (so classy). I also thought about a bottle of some spices or something since we like spicy food. But ultimately everything gets pretty pricey when you contemplate doing it for 120 people. Sorry guests, but we thought it was better to spend that money on things that would make it a better party (like good food) than gifts you might not even really want....<br />
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So instead I decided to make magnets. Magnets are boring, yes. But most people have magnets on their fridges, so I thought at the very least they could hang around in everyone's kitchen as a little reminder of our special day. And I thought I could use them to display the escort cards (the little cards that tell everyone where they're sitting), thus killing two birds with one stone. I found a tutorial for making magnets out of glass stones, gathered my supplies, and set to work.<br />
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Here's how it went down (and I will confess, I made these in November for our June wedding...I just wanted to start getting tasks out of the way):<br />
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For supplies, I needed colored craft paper (I used 6 sheets of paper: 3 shades of turquoise, and 3 shades of pink/coral), strong clear glue, decorative glass stones (the kind that are rounded on one side and flat on the other), and strong magnets. I found all of this at Michaels. I also used the rubber stamp that I bought on Etsy and used for a lot of our wedding decor.<br />
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The basic process was to first stamp each sheet of paper a bunch of times:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvvL3K6mKTsoIUjjhW787ZR1-quqP51XbpwOqW-5yc9D05YiAnFglqsp0vlIBPXnGVIlUZAszgA3FpLQd6z10hAnba4qD_vsB_7IF6f_Br1xEF75r_n8D6Xb0oLbm5yJ9ldYrXmwyeYY/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvvL3K6mKTsoIUjjhW787ZR1-quqP51XbpwOqW-5yc9D05YiAnFglqsp0vlIBPXnGVIlUZAszgA3FpLQd6z10hAnba4qD_vsB_7IF6f_Br1xEF75r_n8D6Xb0oLbm5yJ9ldYrXmwyeYY/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then I used one of the stones as a guide, traced its shape around each stamp, and cut out each resulting oval:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5KUbgIKV8Eml2_zRipGz2y7Eomehmd_S0I62-_QMNNuaJvl9Sex6Vlu5wWtTxn-zRHZ7C3gooVmSD5lvqVJrT2mRHsZ1Zr7CQfr1DnXv9qBLrOer37K3TT9RlQO2efnFJ2MM-AOqLzo/s1600/IMG_0469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5KUbgIKV8Eml2_zRipGz2y7Eomehmd_S0I62-_QMNNuaJvl9Sex6Vlu5wWtTxn-zRHZ7C3gooVmSD5lvqVJrT2mRHsZ1Zr7CQfr1DnXv9qBLrOer37K3TT9RlQO2efnFJ2MM-AOqLzo/s1600/IMG_0469.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Next I used the glue to adhere a glass stone to each paper oval:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVd9sFMkRMlfeqdTpdvj6PUhPPBkACWJvWya0m1FiWzTipFsX7k_iEbZBF8NVoL3r4UKIn8yyNt6PRlu9gSEhIJR0KWApiYwUOMI0Oqa4kkiTIKJaNN1Aopd-wSut5HI_Ii3CAjzgtqDc/s1600/IMG_0470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVd9sFMkRMlfeqdTpdvj6PUhPPBkACWJvWya0m1FiWzTipFsX7k_iEbZBF8NVoL3r4UKIn8yyNt6PRlu9gSEhIJR0KWApiYwUOMI0Oqa4kkiTIKJaNN1Aopd-wSut5HI_Ii3CAjzgtqDc/s1600/IMG_0470.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27PA9FGS4evKB9wq3IY4GObKj0-dFPzyFIhSsThFQ-mQzrFx15WqYI-nVr32-21lJBdU5KPb106w152ymmzgQlbTC7h-IpK3OKYEw7VzXNGrOjFv60WJ5EzdAbdLUDD9u1IMjzb93S1I/s1600/IMG_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27PA9FGS4evKB9wq3IY4GObKj0-dFPzyFIhSsThFQ-mQzrFx15WqYI-nVr32-21lJBdU5KPb106w152ymmzgQlbTC7h-IpK3OKYEw7VzXNGrOjFv60WJ5EzdAbdLUDD9u1IMjzb93S1I/s1600/IMG_0471.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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(If you look closely, you can see the camera and my Harvard sweatshirt reflected in the glass...don't look closely)</div>
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I was able to squeeze out any air bubbles in the glue just by pressing the stone down firmly. The glue dried pretty quickly -- within a few minutes. Since each stone was slightly different in shape, I tried to pick one for tracing that was fairly representative and then once they were all glued together I trimmed off any excess paper that stuck out from under the edges of any given stone.<br />
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I completed all these steps for each one so I was left with a pile of stones with paper ovals glued to the bottom. Then I flipped all the stones over, dabbed glue on the back of a bunch of them, and quickly pressed down a single magnet on each one before the glue dried. I put glue on about 10 at a time before adding the magnets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSeJU7In2uoKzXPe-ZzwjmF06bhfdCD4I0M3bgWWEL33AYw1FsJ7zDbx94qXvdBjpXTBGtIMBXADDP7uiaVE0cM4hoHrJ9ICK5U_m8vKCGG24rjGky2Og0dS632Dw3U3ZOWcK6gfwq28/s1600/IMG_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSeJU7In2uoKzXPe-ZzwjmF06bhfdCD4I0M3bgWWEL33AYw1FsJ7zDbx94qXvdBjpXTBGtIMBXADDP7uiaVE0cM4hoHrJ9ICK5U_m8vKCGG24rjGky2Og0dS632Dw3U3ZOWcK6gfwq28/s1600/IMG_0473.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I let them dry upside down for about 15 minutes. As the glue was first drying, sometimes the magnets would slide off to one side (visible on a few stones in the photo above) -- I just made sure to keep an eye on them and push them back into place until the glue firmed up.<br />
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Then I popped all 120 of them in a tupperware container to await the wedding 8 months later. All told (not counting the stamp, since I used that for other things), they cost 33 cents apiece...not too bad!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5i669p8kEUrcRlDGv89VFY0XN9HhHvF4ixfj4nRRit9OGsUvHdnuxeWVBnMLtUJZsKRUrD06CkIfKqJ-4MxWBs1vpFM0De5rK-YoPol1fcYWKf14pR2R4KQJy48xgVyeeYxwarYw4AI/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5i669p8kEUrcRlDGv89VFY0XN9HhHvF4ixfj4nRRit9OGsUvHdnuxeWVBnMLtUJZsKRUrD06CkIfKqJ-4MxWBs1vpFM0De5rK-YoPol1fcYWKf14pR2R4KQJy48xgVyeeYxwarYw4AI/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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To display them with the escort cards, I found magnetic boards at Michaels, which I painted turquoise with paint I already had on hand from past projects. I calculated that based on the size and number of escort cards, I needed two boards of the size they had at Michael's.<br />
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(sorry for the poor photo, this is the week before the wedding and I was moving fast)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJyrWV5ef-gYAdXPpOq8nuNZ9FM1c3VKT0p77FjMceMCc27-pBAWw4SO6gxQxVBY9TwqHrbDtvunpMFtG7Auy6lqZNz5Ej9ZHRL_IB5ID_k798ofslDM0aWAStBNRRf7hvOVOFcysKr8/s1600/IMG_0770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJyrWV5ef-gYAdXPpOq8nuNZ9FM1c3VKT0p77FjMceMCc27-pBAWw4SO6gxQxVBY9TwqHrbDtvunpMFtG7Auy6lqZNz5Ej9ZHRL_IB5ID_k798ofslDM0aWAStBNRRf7hvOVOFcysKr8/s1600/IMG_0770.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I bought white wire contraptions on Amazon meant to display decorative plates or books etc, which I used to prop up the frames (you can see one at the bottom of the frame in the photo above).<br />
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For the escort cards, I mail merged each person's name and table number into a Word document using a label template in Word that put the names into three columns and 7 rows. I right-aligned the text so that the magnet could sit on the left edge of each card and not block the name. Before doing the merge, I sorted the excel spreadsheet I was using by meal preference so that everyone who wanted each meal type was grouped near each other in the mail merge. This is because I wanted to color code the escort cards according to meal selection, since people often don't remember and the caterer said this really helps. I bought three colors of washi tape at Staples (which is just thin decorative tape) -- pink for salmon, orange for beef, and yellow for polenta.<br />
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Then I printed the escort cards on white cardstock, and ran a strip of washi tape down the left side of each card (the point of grouping the names by meal preference was so that I could run the same color washi tape down entire sheets of cardstock). Then I used the paper cutter at Kinkos (for free) to cut each piece of cardstock into the individual escort cards. I'd thought about using pre-perforated business cards, but it was cheaper to just use the same cardstock that I was already buying for the ceremony programs.<br />
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Lastly, I mounted the escort cards alphabetically on the magnetic boards using the guest favors. I just alternated pink and turquoise. Here's how they looked at home:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvxmFZCRwgS7eXPFBhkIYygtrj_DdqdPAG_A27FNxwmhb-MXQpUt4SM0H2ltnoU_JTnHzwF2Kf8rFdRL3nDOI6sb1FeYeXMn_BRFd1wAPMf_j50lx3ss7bQyUhTx-XPEHCg4zVhkrpi4/s1600/IMG_0776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvxmFZCRwgS7eXPFBhkIYygtrj_DdqdPAG_A27FNxwmhb-MXQpUt4SM0H2ltnoU_JTnHzwF2Kf8rFdRL3nDOI6sb1FeYeXMn_BRFd1wAPMf_j50lx3ss7bQyUhTx-XPEHCg4zVhkrpi4/s1600/IMG_0776.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And at the wedding:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK2h-YG-yBIf3ogi6KOA5n3Fvn9HMTcJZDGnAZtRMPlIx-hhmDs41kdPSwf-950LA7X2TCydo-2LpbCJaGbiMbGIvIQ6kT07SxoYrt_GfVdA2fB-i6tF0zeMIpJBH67ukHY8bY4_J_c8/s1600/140614TROj012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK2h-YG-yBIf3ogi6KOA5n3Fvn9HMTcJZDGnAZtRMPlIx-hhmDs41kdPSwf-950LA7X2TCydo-2LpbCJaGbiMbGIvIQ6kT07SxoYrt_GfVdA2fB-i6tF0zeMIpJBH67ukHY8bY4_J_c8/s1600/140614TROj012.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here's a close up:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVySNKApvxytpCNh83i5Bo-i6Xjp95pnsugozsoB87iTrrzlQzKyG5tK1l1dYs4kDDfw_6esT-CyqmPvEaZoim9rTooWTb_YsmCHMatVE_meSadUqFtjKLnDSozhVeNZ7IkLg4EKEm9ME/s1600/140614TROj011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVySNKApvxytpCNh83i5Bo-i6Xjp95pnsugozsoB87iTrrzlQzKyG5tK1l1dYs4kDDfw_6esT-CyqmPvEaZoim9rTooWTb_YsmCHMatVE_meSadUqFtjKLnDSozhVeNZ7IkLg4EKEm9ME/s1600/140614TROj011.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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I liked that the washi tape was definitely visible and gave the escort cards some interest once they were removed from the board, but not too overpowering when sitting under the magnet so the final result didn't look too jumbled.<br />
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We ended up having extra magnets because I made excess back in November not knowing for sure what our final headcount would be (and not wanting to have to rush to make a few more right before the wedding). As you can see two photos above, I put the extras in a basket (which my aunt made and gave to us as a wedding present a few days before the wedding -- the colors were too perfect not to immediately use it) with a little note telling people to feel free to swap for whatever color they wanted or to take extras.Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-33253155338653613292014-07-28T12:48:00.000-04:002014-07-28T12:48:30.837-04:00Wedding DIY: Wedding colors and "theme"As all the blogs will tell you, no wedding is complete without special wedding colors and even a theme. Picking colors was very easy, I immediately declared that they would be coral and turquoise because a) I love these colors, and b) following from reason a, <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2012/06/noticing-theme.html">almost everything in our apartment</a> is one of these two colors so it would make it very easy to steal decorations from our home and pass them off as wedding decor (and to use leftover paint from past projects on new wedding-related projects). However, I mostly treated these as our base colors and then used lots of other colors in the wedding that I thought complemented them. So for instance, I thought coral or turquoise bridesmaids dresses might be a little intense, so instead I just asked the ladies to wear blue dresses in any style and hue of their choosing and then gave them statement coral necklaces to wear.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgWZM0G2-YATP_7VoraoijlH8Y6yFU8WH6LBYGZIwqrcgvCNkve69-OJ3dN_3MjjHAzNdPgsGFnJkbaTNogWYLEFQWl-byGLI0Zpx486nvr0Q8a2GlYto7PD2XYFBpXhGPPZOeKZow4E/s1600/140614TROd047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgWZM0G2-YATP_7VoraoijlH8Y6yFU8WH6LBYGZIwqrcgvCNkve69-OJ3dN_3MjjHAzNdPgsGFnJkbaTNogWYLEFQWl-byGLI0Zpx486nvr0Q8a2GlYto7PD2XYFBpXhGPPZOeKZow4E/s1600/140614TROd047.jpg" height="640" width="472" /></a></div>
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(Note the turquoise ribbon wrapping the bouquets)</div>
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Our moms got in on the blue theme too:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWQqKEh6cIClYXzq-0aI9WLy8mDib24X4yDYtoZoJNxmoUohhNRKLJXPGK5_YGh-uERnkUjDzZm3Wne7Ev5g2QEOH093TTFBa2nOlvrbT17mfSvb-tRxuQzbMaTGZsW-Gvk-LiqV4NnU/s1600/140614TROd076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWQqKEh6cIClYXzq-0aI9WLy8mDib24X4yDYtoZoJNxmoUohhNRKLJXPGK5_YGh-uERnkUjDzZm3Wne7Ev5g2QEOH093TTFBa2nOlvrbT17mfSvb-tRxuQzbMaTGZsW-Gvk-LiqV4NnU/s1600/140614TROd076.jpg" height="640" width="456" /></a></div>
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Similarly, we used yellow flowers for the bridesmaid bouquets (sunflowers) and some of the table arrangements (novelty mums) because yellow seemed to go well with turquoise and coral.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XbQ4FtE_-IsBPS25zrPhaGa2ismRe5Aloyy3LKUDqLBaRJ1tRJ_MIozkOEGnwO7R0e6Yvvt43Fn4bvfYaURWCx935JIsHzkxlLzMEJzwrx4j8qI3x0WvYvrDccAjOl-4M5N_S3-ii3k/s1600/140614TROd042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XbQ4FtE_-IsBPS25zrPhaGa2ismRe5Aloyy3LKUDqLBaRJ1tRJ_MIozkOEGnwO7R0e6Yvvt43Fn4bvfYaURWCx935JIsHzkxlLzMEJzwrx4j8qI3x0WvYvrDccAjOl-4M5N_S3-ii3k/s1600/140614TROd042.jpg" height="470" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4EclAranZ_XOa4T_0F5W0A99MHLMFA6d3FnMshsv9x-KPB45KAMlTqTEaOj2OvK85HoHm0OLdPnPVJNimJ6OLcXs0yDEm29F4lFxq2Yi3-ghQnF03rv7Ax4GZ9RY0Uy_-BHiarkdYsg/s1600/140614TROj010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4EclAranZ_XOa4T_0F5W0A99MHLMFA6d3FnMshsv9x-KPB45KAMlTqTEaOj2OvK85HoHm0OLdPnPVJNimJ6OLcXs0yDEm29F4lFxq2Yi3-ghQnF03rv7Ax4GZ9RY0Uy_-BHiarkdYsg/s1600/140614TROj010.jpg" height="640" width="454" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPkIA7PgOFMHt0Rkl9qFxpq8zIFDffxIuHmdWPwI32SsMIdMLmv31B3pUZd1-ajtMTC4GPh0yGdl4jKMkQeZvLNkeHs5jtNzSpLKcQSOEOt6MDaMkkYs7_NZtvPkT05AazMJ7jhhDtVc/s1600/140614TROj015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPkIA7PgOFMHt0Rkl9qFxpq8zIFDffxIuHmdWPwI32SsMIdMLmv31B3pUZd1-ajtMTC4GPh0yGdl4jKMkQeZvLNkeHs5jtNzSpLKcQSOEOt6MDaMkkYs7_NZtvPkT05AazMJ7jhhDtVc/s1600/140614TROj015.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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That being said, we also had plenty of coral and turquoise scattered throughout:<br />
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The flower vases (which were pasta sauce jars I'd saved for months) had turquoise ribbons tied around them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVqqCg_bnIU23YQMKZy09lLaTy9qxWubwmail8qdsClEOTWa2yKKllSCoqZzZmw58clqDkYJG6jjWTL5ZTzAO-IexD868oLWDt-7ChS6aDdcIo5cfQIR6kAz6nbdTG5UtKH3jdfXzsudM/s1600/140614TROj008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVqqCg_bnIU23YQMKZy09lLaTy9qxWubwmail8qdsClEOTWa2yKKllSCoqZzZmw58clqDkYJG6jjWTL5ZTzAO-IexD868oLWDt-7ChS6aDdcIo5cfQIR6kAz6nbdTG5UtKH3jdfXzsudM/s1600/140614TROj008.jpg" height="452" width="640" /></a></div>
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My shoes:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80v0o7W9G1c5LuHvcMUXwdwy9YHj3o88QTnp4iBjiiGqrt7u1SFCKlYpZn4Ew14fboo68Fbh1PV_eshWt7_LpFKcmKsCwp7MhG5irpThQp2IGb3iSczrKC_nRv__jnYtz5-cgRhNx9og/s1600/140614TROa001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80v0o7W9G1c5LuHvcMUXwdwy9YHj3o88QTnp4iBjiiGqrt7u1SFCKlYpZn4Ew14fboo68Fbh1PV_eshWt7_LpFKcmKsCwp7MhG5irpThQp2IGb3iSczrKC_nRv__jnYtz5-cgRhNx9og/s1600/140614TROa001.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></div>
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My earrings:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIxefaIFuEWVnVQZVnDzBJwkUsWO_1MNwsNSE15EFLN0z-vAs9khhy5aC8FK9UijQ8WUeEOdJTYqvMzO9FGk5yuRjDhjGBh4XImPYXZP2zsZx8y8fjT6yYvFHMHWAMVmY51Lps3xsEGA/s1600/140614TROe030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIxefaIFuEWVnVQZVnDzBJwkUsWO_1MNwsNSE15EFLN0z-vAs9khhy5aC8FK9UijQ8WUeEOdJTYqvMzO9FGk5yuRjDhjGBh4XImPYXZP2zsZx8y8fjT6yYvFHMHWAMVmY51Lps3xsEGA/s1600/140614TROe030.jpg" height="640" width="592" /></a></div>
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My bouquet:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wDoRsbZqIv5EUKDWCE63BprKGcwcNKmFtdP04x64L3NUb4j-yU8Ug5UXEGhRVbur8w3Ot9rYGOR5wyghvgiqv0QJRwBJLgR9XfwJnEtNA_t0KpXov9wvaxuCiehDluDkhyphenhyphenjB4m2kvnw/s1600/140614TROj016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wDoRsbZqIv5EUKDWCE63BprKGcwcNKmFtdP04x64L3NUb4j-yU8Ug5UXEGhRVbur8w3Ot9rYGOR5wyghvgiqv0QJRwBJLgR9XfwJnEtNA_t0KpXov9wvaxuCiehDluDkhyphenhyphenjB4m2kvnw/s1600/140614TROj016.jpg" height="430" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our seating sign and basket for programs (both DIY):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwy1GDwE6_86JA2-nm46i4B8apBdz_10Vnfdp2GPQYAjRY4R7DM2Sy4uARQYIu4RnFN6j8Sx55oAvqlVwtoKp_h_jDZRfm6urR8JtP8YP7MuBdEFRFKFzB4-8RDSBzIJd-K9atgRkNK-w/s1600/140614TROj002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwy1GDwE6_86JA2-nm46i4B8apBdz_10Vnfdp2GPQYAjRY4R7DM2Sy4uARQYIu4RnFN6j8Sx55oAvqlVwtoKp_h_jDZRfm6urR8JtP8YP7MuBdEFRFKFzB4-8RDSBzIJd-K9atgRkNK-w/s1600/140614TROj002.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div>
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The programs themselves (also DIY):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-rH1ZEY3e19V5tWQHMHiw1ryIxHmpLdXBJHfHGCa-ePdwaZ0yuyjPWTC-LwQBxDCC_v11jvNGHxTxQN2tjV9d4QXY-oCaA-n4O_OWqNRC4RIeqATMJWR6JXSiX36RwYaQpcGPSEUE1U/s1600/IMG_0766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-rH1ZEY3e19V5tWQHMHiw1ryIxHmpLdXBJHfHGCa-ePdwaZ0yuyjPWTC-LwQBxDCC_v11jvNGHxTxQN2tjV9d4QXY-oCaA-n4O_OWqNRC4RIeqATMJWR6JXSiX36RwYaQpcGPSEUE1U/s1600/IMG_0766.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The escort cards and guest favors (more DIY):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxMdFYxaHS5xa8uff8B4zM-VPtsRSJeZvm5Hcufp65LzMSVJ8qeoufRp2t_q2lMJ-4eblgHdgkCzBdzS71BJnz20Na5s5cFaE6cF963oumN6biE4Ml4hbUn0LUzguOU5elYnNCZ06RvA/s1600/140614TROj012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxMdFYxaHS5xa8uff8B4zM-VPtsRSJeZvm5Hcufp65LzMSVJ8qeoufRp2t_q2lMJ-4eblgHdgkCzBdzS71BJnz20Na5s5cFaE6cF963oumN6biE4Ml4hbUn0LUzguOU5elYnNCZ06RvA/s1600/140614TROj012.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div>
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The tags for the wish tree (which we had instead of a guest book -- more details to come in future posts):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqIrcyeoLa1S_gYMqfO5CLypmPLJ6A8CNYj24zH7X-PJxyzawm_2zXNvTVuJ_GjM5twXRaPNEtCbiFAReCpEeS2J6N2MeMT8lNUq6I0ojaY7elnJgk4DvVn-XVTdn51PQOGCWOjV9qgA/s1600/140614TROj014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqIrcyeoLa1S_gYMqfO5CLypmPLJ6A8CNYj24zH7X-PJxyzawm_2zXNvTVuJ_GjM5twXRaPNEtCbiFAReCpEeS2J6N2MeMT8lNUq6I0ojaY7elnJgk4DvVn-XVTdn51PQOGCWOjV9qgA/s1600/140614TROj014.jpg" height="640" width="520" /></a></div>
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Picking a theme was harder. I brainstormed with friends and family and had many wonderful contenders such as "Drowning in Love" (this would be a nautical theme in which we tried to suffocate guests with our over-the-top declarations of love and dogged adherence to nautical decor) and "White Whale" (this would pit me, in my white dress, as the Moby Dick to Sam's Captain Ahab). (To those who don't get my sense of humor, these options were actually discussed but only sardonically considered.)<br />
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Ultimately, I decided to go with a simpler theme: love birds. This arose because I was picking a template for our <a href="http://www.weddingwire.com/weddings/1773967/wedding_new_website#!/website/6948#website-page-6948">wedding website</a> (we used wedding wire), and the turquoise scheme that I liked the most happened to have some birds kissing on it. And then I found turquoise invitations at Michael's that also happened to have love birds on them. I asked Sam how he felt about "birds kissing," he expressed appropriate confusion about how to respond to this question, and our theme was born.<br />
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Basically I just used the "theme" to try to make everything look somewhat intentionally cohesive, even though it actually started as total coincidence. To avoid paying exorbitant fees to have other wedding-related materials designed to match the love birds theme, instead I found a vendor on Etsy to make us a $25 rubber stamp that I then used to my heart's content on things like our ceremony programs and guest favors. (I bought black, turquoise, and coral ink pads to use in different contexts.)<br />
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Thus we ended up with this smorgasbord of birds scattered throughout our wedding materials:<br />
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Wedding website:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGTl1ANsplMovRKyMHgjy5priOoIga82yo4U8Q3Rpy2zkGvL9O9Yepl-IfHnCEvHTOZj_jaOAXpzcDSVIKCiQbmqsClHG5m_Bcn7Rzll5FJLH1X0gP9eHQ-cKfTi-InwKm4YTczCQPMQ/s1600/wedding+website+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGTl1ANsplMovRKyMHgjy5priOoIga82yo4U8Q3Rpy2zkGvL9O9Yepl-IfHnCEvHTOZj_jaOAXpzcDSVIKCiQbmqsClHG5m_Bcn7Rzll5FJLH1X0gP9eHQ-cKfTi-InwKm4YTczCQPMQ/s1600/wedding+website+2.jpg" height="370" width="640" /></a></div>
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Invitations:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQkUgYp3jNJRLJAS1SJpRiJzYiRvgKswyvr1ghhwTKknqzKAf58OFwinI1uvQGZbHC9OQqDF72uChblZTkW83Ct_x5imWTR2kkubE2CsX3nRBdpJXw2y2qN7Rd9ZZOnnTkhIhudv4F0M/s1600/IMG_0722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQkUgYp3jNJRLJAS1SJpRiJzYiRvgKswyvr1ghhwTKknqzKAf58OFwinI1uvQGZbHC9OQqDF72uChblZTkW83Ct_x5imWTR2kkubE2CsX3nRBdpJXw2y2qN7Rd9ZZOnnTkhIhudv4F0M/s1600/IMG_0722.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ceremony programs:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOQBEyHo_zg92bSdmlZmt45h-Og8RO7zsuMN5ExizymNZVKR-Ets6oHMdVBgTKu9NDW6OMb1w2L3-S4jiX991kO1Vv2rI7bs1v96Z31cDfkoZzqiAyeOAfCDKB8Rm80Lg26vYJEcF37c/s1600/IMG_0766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOQBEyHo_zg92bSdmlZmt45h-Og8RO7zsuMN5ExizymNZVKR-Ets6oHMdVBgTKu9NDW6OMb1w2L3-S4jiX991kO1Vv2rI7bs1v96Z31cDfkoZzqiAyeOAfCDKB8Rm80Lg26vYJEcF37c/s1600/IMG_0766.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Guest Favors:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw5lsC4XUILCjwcumxJ5vdehPUASl9awfgbNT2FGermnhyphenhyphen0KxlLtkgUTsyCDHGAbhyjFxkztWmadl6MRA2v54AfKQNIobzkS37nC4tGXxpJGksz01ykyao7i15mt7W3BBKZ_VGuaoW8k/s1600/140614TROj011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw5lsC4XUILCjwcumxJ5vdehPUASl9awfgbNT2FGermnhyphenhyphen0KxlLtkgUTsyCDHGAbhyjFxkztWmadl6MRA2v54AfKQNIobzkS37nC4tGXxpJGksz01ykyao7i15mt7W3BBKZ_VGuaoW8k/s1600/140614TROj011.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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Receptacle for cards (it's a bid cage, though its hard to tell from the photo):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8eRgbQ6JwKclDFvOdkJNch0ZHe0Xn2fviOcLb9QfAxzJD-3U5fNLG_Cgs8HyZuhCKozvtXi_EmxbCumleB8pqMqyu6KAZCe_FK1UHk7pjDtwbTy8ML_oc-Q01_I7Zc9sme2OZrfYO84/s1600/140614TROj013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8eRgbQ6JwKclDFvOdkJNch0ZHe0Xn2fviOcLb9QfAxzJD-3U5fNLG_Cgs8HyZuhCKozvtXi_EmxbCumleB8pqMqyu6KAZCe_FK1UHk7pjDtwbTy8ML_oc-Q01_I7Zc9sme2OZrfYO84/s1600/140614TROj013.jpg" height="436" width="640" /></a></div>
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And there you have it: turquoise, coral, a bunch of other colors, birds kissing. It's all so romantic.<br />
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Next up will be a deeper exploration of our DIYed printed materials (Save-the-Dates, invitations, programs, and signs), and then more about the DIY decor throughout. I know you're on the edge of your seats.Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-76297027138020776752014-07-23T14:21:00.000-04:002014-07-23T14:21:44.440-04:00House floor plan and thoughts for the futureI received a message from a friend that he was very happy to hear about the house and see the pictures, but was disappointed because he was expecting a full 3D rendering of the house in Sketch-Up <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/learning-to-sketch.html">like I did for the apartment</a>. I don't like letting people down, so here is my attempt to remedy that situation.<br />
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Sketch-up is amazing and extremely powerful, but it's also very time consuming and challenging because of how many features it has. I thought I'd give another software a try: floorplanner. Floorplanner is specifically designed for fairly quickly laying out houses -- you can't customize and add as much detail as in Sketch-Up, but it gets the job done in a basic way. In less than an hour, I was able to throw together a floor plan.<br />
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Here's the first floor:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_w8Gu-LQAw3NCHzM1fOCLWfRo0cGXoBasKUJ_t_CY6MmjSvqxVH0TLVpsrRfZCcgv7vWKCkRewxOz6fdDJ5aZRS2xAlhYqnxltkw3s4tk18UdinMxHHK89WVa03-ZLox0KujYuUeljk/s1600/First+floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_w8Gu-LQAw3NCHzM1fOCLWfRo0cGXoBasKUJ_t_CY6MmjSvqxVH0TLVpsrRfZCcgv7vWKCkRewxOz6fdDJ5aZRS2xAlhYqnxltkw3s4tk18UdinMxHHK89WVa03-ZLox0KujYuUeljk/s1600/First+floor.jpg" height="640" width="418" /></a></div>
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And the second floor:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7E2RiXFu_UMHxuqE_ZZQPBWUYLGVH0sW4KYCXd15Rrgoa1jQln2a5hTeY5M2sd6amAlGBkRXt1YwVGTMcdOy5HiaeJ_-jJ_M22c1Ls-Alz_pIJt3frIngJ1HCvrP_tZmwz6qseu5j24/s1600/Second+floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7E2RiXFu_UMHxuqE_ZZQPBWUYLGVH0sW4KYCXd15Rrgoa1jQln2a5hTeY5M2sd6amAlGBkRXt1YwVGTMcdOy5HiaeJ_-jJ_M22c1Ls-Alz_pIJt3frIngJ1HCvrP_tZmwz6qseu5j24/s1600/Second+floor.jpg" height="180" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(The second floor is the same width as the first floor, I've just shown it a little bigger here so you can read the labels more clearly)</span></div>
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I didn't make a floor plan for the basement. It has the same dimensions as the first floor minus the sunroom (which was a recent addition), and is one big open space.</div>
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In the future we're thinking we want to open up the wall between the kitchen and the living room to create a more open concept (which would be great for our use, and valuable when we eventually sell since open floor plans are much more popular these days), as well as adding a dormer or double dormer to the second floor to accommodate a second bathroom and maybe create a master suite. In case you're not familiar with dormering (I wasn't), it's a way of building out a sloped roof to create a lot more usable space, like so (this is just a random house I found online to demonstrate dormering):</div>
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Before:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsE0DQ0Xq61MhogUbozftqe1TrCXcJOkHn3DZVeszuq3SzKhVhvGehAvsd7qX85kZUc_C6CujvedgGc1BG98o6cHyFwI1GkJcmdtBN6h9PV6XjjUccjg8YOQhmj_Qy_bOWUqFRo0eYmU0/s1600/992394597_orig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsE0DQ0Xq61MhogUbozftqe1TrCXcJOkHn3DZVeszuq3SzKhVhvGehAvsd7qX85kZUc_C6CujvedgGc1BG98o6cHyFwI1GkJcmdtBN6h9PV6XjjUccjg8YOQhmj_Qy_bOWUqFRo0eYmU0/s1600/992394597_orig.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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With dormer:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKcY49l2diQ66blP0zWAZjkt2jZlS_yi6shxvTKpwWL1YYPJ4LQNZOzRvL47k-ANMDV1Vp6kFBRSq4on9mwzHNnxazvtmr16xrQrbmU5NCA8gwcOyjN7E4nmj0xwdJEI-xgNEN38RsGo/s1600/662658845_orig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKcY49l2diQ66blP0zWAZjkt2jZlS_yi6shxvTKpwWL1YYPJ4LQNZOzRvL47k-ANMDV1Vp6kFBRSq4on9mwzHNnxazvtmr16xrQrbmU5NCA8gwcOyjN7E4nmj0xwdJEI-xgNEN38RsGo/s1600/662658845_orig.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's an expensive undertaking, but something we can save up for and would really boost the value of the home since only having 1 bathroom is definitely a big drawback.</div>
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Anyway, that's how the house all fits together and the bigger changes we're thinking for the layout down the road!</div>
<br />Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-89100397424767594142014-07-19T16:56:00.001-04:002014-07-19T16:56:26.737-04:00Wedding: DIY clutch and wedding party giftsWe're still (im)patiently waiting for the wedding photos to come back -- we should have them soon, but 4-8 weeks isn't atypical during peak wedding season. In the meantime, I can't share much in the way of wedding DIY since I need photos of the DIY in action on wedding day. There are a few projects that I managed to get photos of, though, since they didn't make much of an appearance at the wedding: the clutch I sewed to hold wedding-day essentials, and the boxes/bags I made to package the gifts we gave our wedding party.<br />
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<u>Pleated Clutch</u><br />
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I wanted to have somewhere to put emergency items on wedding day (like aspirin, fashion tape, extra bobby pins, tide pen, my cell phone, sewing kit and scissors, lipstick, etc), but I didn't have any purses that I thought were right for the job. So I decided to sew a clutch in our wedding colors, coral and turquoise. I found a pattern for a pleated clutch on Etsy that I really liked, and bought <a href="https://www.etsy.com/transaction/184751279?campaign_label=receipt_buyer&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=receipt_010170_7297498688_0_0&utm_medium=trans_email">the kit</a> that came with the pattern, zipper, interfacing, and stabilizer (which makes the clutch firmer than it would be if it were just fabric). The fabric I bought from a place downtown -- I found some coral fabric for the outside, and some turquoise silk for the lining.<br />
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This was definitely one of those "if I had known had hard it would be, I'm not sure I would have worked up the energy to do it" projects -- but fortunately, I plunged ahead unaware. It took me a few hours one day and a few more the next (the weekend before the wedding), and was definitely a lot of cutting, ironing, and precision sewing. But the directions that came with the pattern were very helpful, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:<br />
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Front:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tdVKen3BHBMU5OsCAUp9XIlZKaf0jMm4TJpX75Dmsgj2tGjkTH3ryotUqUfSVR87dlOLHKfVJBrmyPFyZSuFvEkdJ9C8z091pCiH2M5-G2J5ixIl2XfWowAswgJ1Yhyphenhyphen3nWa1PYktu5U/s1600/IMG_0738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tdVKen3BHBMU5OsCAUp9XIlZKaf0jMm4TJpX75Dmsgj2tGjkTH3ryotUqUfSVR87dlOLHKfVJBrmyPFyZSuFvEkdJ9C8z091pCiH2M5-G2J5ixIl2XfWowAswgJ1Yhyphenhyphen3nWa1PYktu5U/s1600/IMG_0738.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Back:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehItHkkhDCp-p9Zw-SAnGQFqvi0vZfmYWIj_YTTYWtgT6Hg3o5HyZ8JC7XKQmd7mfjKxArgi74RvnYkWNq7_k0w-XD2DDKzYTdya0gPwvsVlozlPiDFT5MKcsx6drE1ANs33_tquNhqk/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehItHkkhDCp-p9Zw-SAnGQFqvi0vZfmYWIj_YTTYWtgT6Hg3o5HyZ8JC7XKQmd7mfjKxArgi74RvnYkWNq7_k0w-XD2DDKzYTdya0gPwvsVlozlPiDFT5MKcsx6drE1ANs33_tquNhqk/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Inside:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4G9H0mLg6pfpOBXo0FUZ6UhZW9nUOQtGfUh0E0m1Uhgk6PQWoZM7v8LOF6M_iZ5pfv_ulaE47TNVfDE3cwj87irSZkmHSlcsUGzsU8klk2iRjysK_dUT6TwyO1QXqXVig2fuJocPp9A/s1600/IMG_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4G9H0mLg6pfpOBXo0FUZ6UhZW9nUOQtGfUh0E0m1Uhgk6PQWoZM7v8LOF6M_iZ5pfv_ulaE47TNVfDE3cwj87irSZkmHSlcsUGzsU8klk2iRjysK_dUT6TwyO1QXqXVig2fuJocPp9A/s1600/IMG_0745.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was the perfect size for holding my various emergency items, and I just left it beforehand on the chair that I knew would be mine during the reception.</div>
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<u>Boxes/bags for wedding party gifts</u></div>
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As I mentioned in my <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/07/our-wedding.html">first wedding post</a>, we gave small gifts to our bridesmaids and groomsmen to thank them for being such an important part of our celebration, and to wear on the Big Day (but we hoped they would like them enough to wear them again in the future). For the bridesmaids I got statement necklaces in coral/peach tones from Urban Peach Boutique (each necklace was different), and for the groomsmen (and Sam) we got turquoise and gray ties from Express. We liked that the ties have turquoise in them, but it's pretty understated so they seem appropriate to wear for future occasions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqiUUyr74E5iz-vm_XFmahk6CiThO5rRIb_kjS1EDEWZqRZBWPymC4i1ragqXp6lCteBWyeIbm3Xgt5L37WgM5UP0zGoGV2scopyHom0FyU40Xe7w94WGaNvxJvRm3S47EcA-NtWx-uw/s1600/14462700686_857c688863_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqiUUyr74E5iz-vm_XFmahk6CiThO5rRIb_kjS1EDEWZqRZBWPymC4i1ragqXp6lCteBWyeIbm3Xgt5L37WgM5UP0zGoGV2scopyHom0FyU40Xe7w94WGaNvxJvRm3S47EcA-NtWx-uw/s1600/14462700686_857c688863_o.jpg" height="438" width="640" /></a></div>
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We wanted to give the gifts at our rehearsal dinner, and to wrap them I made simple boxes for the necklaces and bags for the ties out of scrapbook paper. I had gotten a big book of scrapbook paper to use for various wedding-related decor -- it was something like $12 with a coupon at Michael's, and came in handy for so many projects.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6t9H9jlBJYRqg5VJ8EPCkxMUumLvTjk01p6TnlIHPDAkEqlyAmMdp-8t-aNRhdsXhFpSyUxWkm4EMS5MlQbCmPPvjmpDIYBCn9daLSRu_MsQMlzlRyFv4Fubosp0xqyfWnxgHlMBl2Zc/s1600/Node-IOGLO000030000900001000040000H0001M0001L0000E000020000J0001Y0000200RVM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6t9H9jlBJYRqg5VJ8EPCkxMUumLvTjk01p6TnlIHPDAkEqlyAmMdp-8t-aNRhdsXhFpSyUxWkm4EMS5MlQbCmPPvjmpDIYBCn9daLSRu_MsQMlzlRyFv4Fubosp0xqyfWnxgHlMBl2Zc/s1600/Node-IOGLO000030000900001000040000H0001M0001L0000E000020000J0001Y0000200RVM.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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To make the boxes, I used <a href="http://southernooaks.blogspot.com/2012/12/lets-make-little-paper-boxshall-we.html">this approach</a>. I made 5 "bottoms" in different sizes, and then to make the lids for each one, I just made another box slightly larger to match each bottom. Then I used small cards that I already had on hand with turquoise envelopes to write thank you notes (the convenient thing about picking your favorite colors as your wedding colors is that you're likely to have color-coordinated things on hand already).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZsz16JcdBZMxAgMtMFPUcRFtTPSvOH2HCP7H6XzLYcUmY0wVY8mavZ3nukBPJvRShKe5guRVF9SyrmVeNb6tcwl8Y9ExUsaRDhSapabdCIsW5cBo8-aXwpWKdwRHG3zqHcrWOJwEwe0/s1600/IMG_0737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZsz16JcdBZMxAgMtMFPUcRFtTPSvOH2HCP7H6XzLYcUmY0wVY8mavZ3nukBPJvRShKe5guRVF9SyrmVeNb6tcwl8Y9ExUsaRDhSapabdCIsW5cBo8-aXwpWKdwRHG3zqHcrWOJwEwe0/s1600/IMG_0737.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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For the ties, I needed something a little bigger, so I looked around for tutorials on how to make gift bags out of scrap paper. I ended up using <a href="http://www.elli.com/blog/diy-gift-bag-tutorial/">this approach</a>, with a few of my own tweaks to make the bags the dimensions I wanted. I used red ribbon to make the handles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl00cRVw72_iu50hemYAhiyjyVx_4nzj-a1ZZVJlXaA_dOI4WH9ISR2LvTOoQX70guLXfMffLV9n5FLluz7sIhuLVI4FTnzSyFQexcra08FK6thRPCG12nX5FhYz2H1u8zUI1k3ZF-3dc/s1600/IMG_0736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl00cRVw72_iu50hemYAhiyjyVx_4nzj-a1ZZVJlXaA_dOI4WH9ISR2LvTOoQX70guLXfMffLV9n5FLluz7sIhuLVI4FTnzSyFQexcra08FK6thRPCG12nX5FhYz2H1u8zUI1k3ZF-3dc/s1600/IMG_0736.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And there you have it, some easy boxes and bags with the scrap paper I already had to jazz up the wedding party gifts.</div>
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Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-26935696864282585812014-07-17T17:45:00.003-04:002014-07-17T17:49:07.617-04:00Beacon St. Manor is Moving!<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We're still in disbelief, but it looks like we'll be moving out of Beacon St. Manor and into our very own home at the end of August. We saw the house on Sunday, made an offer that evening, it was accepted within 5 hours. We did the inspection today, and after buttoning up a few more things we should have everything in order to close on August 26th. We're so excited!!!! The house is wonderful, but there are plenty of projects to keep me busy and keep the blog going so I hope you're looking forward to a renewed stream of blog posts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the meantime, here are some photos of the house. Some are from the listing, some I took during the inspection. I don't think the listing photos are as flattering as they could be, but that worked out in our favor I guess! Don't worry, I also plan on mocking something up in Sketchup <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/learning-to-sketch.html">like I did for the apartment</a>, so you can get a much better sense for the layout. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The view from the street. (The driveway is actually on the street next to this, so you enter around the back.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig47ovn6L8KWDA4mAxzj0F-oQyAo2ujRss3HAnk9RiyPS5euOcpqOkfk2Q2Ovp5VSnfsuc-sQUT92K7TWjRdlWft-O6vPYU9hHd3LESdA0zZgj6oK2D1L8SBmXOoQRgzULw9NcBnMh9Vw/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kYGRg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig47ovn6L8KWDA4mAxzj0F-oQyAo2ujRss3HAnk9RiyPS5euOcpqOkfk2Q2Ovp5VSnfsuc-sQUT92K7TWjRdlWft-O6vPYU9hHd3LESdA0zZgj6oK2D1L8SBmXOoQRgzULw9NcBnMh9Vw/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kYGRg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlMzelBn4walYhiu52iXfoT0YSPitHHwWQsBHYwZ7pHx8aY4qB4uYF94FL3ACtWrq0zv9zdopFzQuE-TY_3c259k7UKCDFmZVgehNJ28ERQFYWbHOsPjg2yRylwhOUUJuZsf16nGS95o/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0lYGVg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlMzelBn4walYhiu52iXfoT0YSPitHHwWQsBHYwZ7pHx8aY4qB4uYF94FL3ACtWrq0zv9zdopFzQuE-TY_3c259k7UKCDFmZVgehNJ28ERQFYWbHOsPjg2yRylwhOUUJuZsf16nGS95o/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0lYGVg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then here's the driveway and yard, which is technically the back yard but since you enter from the back it’s more like a front yard.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC3LLsWLRh3t0Wlo1R-cN3rsiQUVkRO3wZpLqPfg1lFgEn4W4QaiUSVvy8UbC1M6UfpFHIfMCcnhfZipJam6r5NIblZj8-SdhDtaH33y7dSjnWTcUv_rHfw0iYkRjmemGgsz1EoZ9-Jk/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kZl0kZl0g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC3LLsWLRh3t0Wlo1R-cN3rsiQUVkRO3wZpLqPfg1lFgEn4W4QaiUSVvy8UbC1M6UfpFHIfMCcnhfZipJam6r5NIblZj8-SdhDtaH33y7dSjnWTcUv_rHfw0iYkRjmemGgsz1EoZ9-Jk/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kZl0kZl0g.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoZ1W4Ono1-yRNZAQ-ln4xVXzT_XNBNP8ATtwJKz9dB_EXMW6CZ-6h4sU0B2-FgnfhnWo_8aGL_ZxbpgX66RmAs3ZX6ItQZdjc5jwFGJVqP5Okw-iqtuOOpIv0saKpknBxBVhFRpq4ms/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kBP0kBP0g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoZ1W4Ono1-yRNZAQ-ln4xVXzT_XNBNP8ATtwJKz9dB_EXMW6CZ-6h4sU0B2-FgnfhnWo_8aGL_ZxbpgX66RmAs3ZX6ItQZdjc5jwFGJVqP5Okw-iqtuOOpIv0saKpknBxBVhFRpq4ms/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kBP0kBP0g.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The sunroom, which is where the back door enters the house</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETWwbx5ExD8PIORj-jZ2OxlzYTQY5EIZg-b0mUDwNQjuqqaC9f52reHuA4N41fwGS9hylemfgT0h_0uUplTZD6RtOqsXM9R3EzFJmWwxhxJuJYlHn08SXkbchFAcJ_Sl5YxyG9NJbJPY/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kZv0kZv0g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETWwbx5ExD8PIORj-jZ2OxlzYTQY5EIZg-b0mUDwNQjuqqaC9f52reHuA4N41fwGS9hylemfgT0h_0uUplTZD6RtOqsXM9R3EzFJmWwxhxJuJYlHn08SXkbchFAcJ_Sl5YxyG9NJbJPY/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kZv0kZv0g.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(There's a big closet in the sunroom, which is great for coats, boots, etc)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then comes the kitchen. It gets a lot more light than these photos make it seem.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaT5KLbn4TLGU6bFwLw0rw8GbT9Lc6UpBjXJ5xUW75HqPvGvSn6aDQmsBvTCm9bqECWXyJ7gkWQDBLpKm7MCa0v6EG0MZx5EiVaQdEhjXQBK_ECHfV8LyvN7W00fvEjLmlc78oHK6dVg/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF02YGLg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaT5KLbn4TLGU6bFwLw0rw8GbT9Lc6UpBjXJ5xUW75HqPvGvSn6aDQmsBvTCm9bqECWXyJ7gkWQDBLpKm7MCa0v6EG0MZx5EiVaQdEhjXQBK_ECHfV8LyvN7W00fvEjLmlc78oHK6dVg/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF02YGLg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RxJzLJtkpm3RbUcs1Qwy1SGU7ZsFUfJfI0FHUqeaTYhSnIZj3BLp-JWe_LnVreASEwBwm1nTftdAUrBpusgOpUq5rfKss6C-x4eOmCfPWq92uKiqkjFXPRp8XBxKaPfb1PrvgxQmqyQ/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF03YGpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RxJzLJtkpm3RbUcs1Qwy1SGU7ZsFUfJfI0FHUqeaTYhSnIZj3BLp-JWe_LnVreASEwBwm1nTftdAUrBpusgOpUq5rfKss6C-x4eOmCfPWq92uKiqkjFXPRp8XBxKaPfb1PrvgxQmqyQ/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF03YGpg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVU-LPZMjnQkHOMuDDmB_n0TCj4JNVI4FHY0TfTzzXS4AY-b6uUCnnB-CZoBn350gWubuWtMtUPe2aE3KKGZg-HTTlSTRrV8BbkD62C0SOpKQMByUKsCBNc79B5m7uh4yzEV-T1MDeTA8/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF04YGtg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVU-LPZMjnQkHOMuDDmB_n0TCj4JNVI4FHY0TfTzzXS4AY-b6uUCnnB-CZoBn350gWubuWtMtUPe2aE3KKGZg-HTTlSTRrV8BbkD62C0SOpKQMByUKsCBNc79B5m7uh4yzEV-T1MDeTA8/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF04YGtg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKrq-VxsSHhSr5L1FC5_ApDoTr4YwR5GGIqaxwXWcGOF9hZKk67PhFgXXiEsO-wyMnyNCv8QyimIbqp9kv04rIQO0shaFTea9cBMPjBtntej-ebIr6ZzApQeJnpEqY9EaZxMpo4nhftY/s1600/IMG_1327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKrq-VxsSHhSr5L1FC5_ApDoTr4YwR5GGIqaxwXWcGOF9hZKk67PhFgXXiEsO-wyMnyNCv8QyimIbqp9kv04rIQO0shaFTea9cBMPjBtntej-ebIr6ZzApQeJnpEqY9EaZxMpo4nhftY/s1600/IMG_1327.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm dying to paint the cabinets white, I think the blue counters will actually look pretty cool at that point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then the living room. Why are the door frames shaped like that? I do not know. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqBz9fkuR1cswqG8OiWH2ogzRO6soIGEiVPB_asygeHq7g3MGMIdV1J0_OKBEC2Ys3Lh2Ky3eAxbk7I7KH1vz00r8fOV0XdCqPqg3zbhhWje6T4giDpJW4iTWIkGprs_INe0siv9xFGs/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0mYGZg-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqBz9fkuR1cswqG8OiWH2ogzRO6soIGEiVPB_asygeHq7g3MGMIdV1J0_OKBEC2Ys3Lh2Ky3eAxbk7I7KH1vz00r8fOV0XdCqPqg3zbhhWje6T4giDpJW4iTWIkGprs_INe0siv9xFGs/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0mYGZg-1.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(Through the door opening, you can see where the front door enters -- but we probably won't use that as an active entrance.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxICZxMh4Kq1DTQUc13-UnOxSasijwyVBddgjna1SA7A2WT0NtpJi2-W_VDL-ABPb4Yu2nVCyLp_zKSQLBCHjCyb_0OYPsgs_S1U13oajKtqU2cQbDlF2a64wFhXdq01RHcBFNLAJ2J4M/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF01YGHg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxICZxMh4Kq1DTQUc13-UnOxSasijwyVBddgjna1SA7A2WT0NtpJi2-W_VDL-ABPb4Yu2nVCyLp_zKSQLBCHjCyb_0OYPsgs_S1U13oajKtqU2cQbDlF2a64wFhXdq01RHcBFNLAJ2J4M/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF01YGHg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAD9J4bylDFvRnTsaoVehJLQ0FB4qorCz-3SXqalgQcarGUO4UNGpZr9FPIi3Shh1NikJECoOSadOo0ff4vNut-6gZ1BxEIGQ92dajFsie8IGsRKS5unmnum4lcIjHIM0GTXVA3tNK7Y/s1600/IMG_1314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAD9J4bylDFvRnTsaoVehJLQ0FB4qorCz-3SXqalgQcarGUO4UNGpZr9FPIi3Shh1NikJECoOSadOo0ff4vNut-6gZ1BxEIGQ92dajFsie8IGsRKS5unmnum4lcIjHIM0GTXVA3tNK7Y/s1600/IMG_1314.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Next to the living room is the "front hall" (if you were using the front door), with the stairs to the second floor. Also off of the front hall is the fourth bedroom (which is being used as an office), the master bedroom, and the bathroom. There's only one bathroom, so that probably turned off a lot of buyers. Fine for us! We may dormer out the second floor eventually and add a second bath, but for now it's not a problem that there's only one and it's on the first floor because the master bedroom is also on the first floor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the front hall and stairs to the second floor</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6ZjRDMUpFA38vJKRVbhbhA-3D38-OV5DF8FWMR2sR0KfyKdSvAzqLNvms2mzVl4mFDDGOeLCKRomfdxlYjFMA5t7smu5rhUKSVIKC56c3k-XhpR3kq2pkJNupF1zRn8Btql5OnL54sM/s1600/IMG_1326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6ZjRDMUpFA38vJKRVbhbhA-3D38-OV5DF8FWMR2sR0KfyKdSvAzqLNvms2mzVl4mFDDGOeLCKRomfdxlYjFMA5t7smu5rhUKSVIKC56c3k-XhpR3kq2pkJNupF1zRn8Btql5OnL54sM/s1600/IMG_1326.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(The wood structure at the end of the hall is a big linen closet)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQakEA0jbdHwTr_4qysu5efioYUCIqyZvHhFb0wT7Ee0EOi0tBZllZxS-lIrMRHhgC-H72E4MOKMuP9hMrp642LTLzz1UsEl1NIF2tLtSggF-VUtph6AfCQZgmT49-es0KcX7E2G8k6y0/s1600/IMG_1325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQakEA0jbdHwTr_4qysu5efioYUCIqyZvHhFb0wT7Ee0EOi0tBZllZxS-lIrMRHhgC-H72E4MOKMuP9hMrp642LTLzz1UsEl1NIF2tLtSggF-VUtph6AfCQZgmT49-es0KcX7E2G8k6y0/s1600/IMG_1325.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bZxg3s2iC8cn_abc38-vi273wFmzUv7Zq36A3z0JxpT9kvjaq0EOVjmHtqQyt8LZrRzkfFu6IbEQgjnexE3arhytjjMu4iZW8cgfi1KDdC6BbUfArFYOdg7kN3jFVddRX_vVbtDateA/s1600/IMG_1328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bZxg3s2iC8cn_abc38-vi273wFmzUv7Zq36A3z0JxpT9kvjaq0EOVjmHtqQyt8LZrRzkfFu6IbEQgjnexE3arhytjjMu4iZW8cgfi1KDdC6BbUfArFYOdg7kN3jFVddRX_vVbtDateA/s1600/IMG_1328.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">("Paint me, paint me!" the wood paneling is screaming)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the fourth bedroom/office</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLNACIR9LA60EA4PsWQdPalzPt8p4Tsve66h5a1LV7Q_jyCAwJQMb0OGm5Q5tcn-FfiXvOI9iU_z7LZsYwqoB956Zi_MfbcR-qvPWyQUxsOffLmoWMmqGJEaJhbY6WwMkeYOL6gMQidQ/s1600/IMG_1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLNACIR9LA60EA4PsWQdPalzPt8p4Tsve66h5a1LV7Q_jyCAwJQMb0OGm5Q5tcn-FfiXvOI9iU_z7LZsYwqoB956Zi_MfbcR-qvPWyQUxsOffLmoWMmqGJEaJhbY6WwMkeYOL6gMQidQ/s1600/IMG_1312.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And the master bedroom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfZI6oCqio90AFSJJR6wh9Gj-XX4xYYbkp_Dlb_cw5hld2oZZhPSH7YI5r78onS0meUyNpBpyrDigcwR_uSYQkhuvEdwm5A8oELMR141jHHq4aAeIynUn36hCIdyb3zLPkc6-QYagmmY/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF00YGDg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfZI6oCqio90AFSJJR6wh9Gj-XX4xYYbkp_Dlb_cw5hld2oZZhPSH7YI5r78onS0meUyNpBpyrDigcwR_uSYQkhuvEdwm5A8oELMR141jHHq4aAeIynUn36hCIdyb3zLPkc6-QYagmmY/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF00YGDg.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJD5tI3-KFiUjxgqCQxt1nsUKklkraQlWjTFfdQc442RU-nNf2V0qtXGBH4wL4h5gsLaya1Gr_q3xjfxM28WUCFwLAcHrgW76RM0kl9GCrU_4paTHJXVWD144q3J9hbPYxKb6OiDBLW1I/s1600/IMG_1309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJD5tI3-KFiUjxgqCQxt1nsUKklkraQlWjTFfdQc442RU-nNf2V0qtXGBH4wL4h5gsLaya1Gr_q3xjfxM28WUCFwLAcHrgW76RM0kl9GCrU_4paTHJXVWD144q3J9hbPYxKb6OiDBLW1I/s1600/IMG_1309.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bathroom</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjNSPtocXlIcnWQJN65FecxxvjhAxYvEBZ0fCL3kNSr5EKFz_5hkNtGKrB21AC68jmAGou-X583fO2zyS_NbUyJerAXqQRzKtp7d6MXIpp5Rs2vOVLMQI5mrWPFIqNuG4NaAlDhrAn-w/s1600/IMG_1310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjNSPtocXlIcnWQJN65FecxxvjhAxYvEBZ0fCL3kNSr5EKFz_5hkNtGKrB21AC68jmAGou-X583fO2zyS_NbUyJerAXqQRzKtp7d6MXIpp5Rs2vOVLMQI5mrWPFIqNuG4NaAlDhrAn-w/s1600/IMG_1310.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then upstairs are two more bedrooms. Both have a bit of a paint emergency going on. But I already have a plan, don't worry. We'll probably have both set up to serve as guest rooms, but with one of them doubling as my craft room. You guys, I get a craft room. I cannot begin to explain how excited I am.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMapO1Lwq7MK97wlCPd3Ok7gfWLctEIGDVm5tlSN-N6abKFoKqwq4oYA_2yB4o7eFwgDt05NCmRZQYyUDKTtBgU7KgWTQH4dtkPzszVKQ4n4F6tG_8WHugWSTlwSyxBc5zdOOHFnYkW8/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kAF0kAF0g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMapO1Lwq7MK97wlCPd3Ok7gfWLctEIGDVm5tlSN-N6abKFoKqwq4oYA_2yB4o7eFwgDt05NCmRZQYyUDKTtBgU7KgWTQH4dtkPzszVKQ4n4F6tG_8WHugWSTlwSyxBc5zdOOHFnYkW8/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kAF0kAF0g.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YRrfEleW2r3Vh0lDyj5JlUBoS9kA7HcSlpmBx-lk0us0j1PjuO1vMSciBwY1b23-G4rnlCbm4zpp1k2RD21JgPkUnmrmrdXhFxHOshFVYBUdF3UKc3fkuMKUlL5CPtky3p6NoiLQ7k4/s1600/IMG_1329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YRrfEleW2r3Vh0lDyj5JlUBoS9kA7HcSlpmBx-lk0us0j1PjuO1vMSciBwY1b23-G4rnlCbm4zpp1k2RD21JgPkUnmrmrdXhFxHOshFVYBUdF3UKc3fkuMKUlL5CPtky3p6NoiLQ7k4/s1600/IMG_1329.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccmo4l4dSZzH4BWIn1LxSUTxj80akixU473pVYJ_yDzLYbeEs9EgKOurtxFoMXfxuC8IcMp6S6VWGZr6SRqS6E_qbmqua5KDUEHc4vp2Zh4OUT_bCAaV1zTJguTGFSgsb7_MTiHkXJCI/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kAv0kAv0g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccmo4l4dSZzH4BWIn1LxSUTxj80akixU473pVYJ_yDzLYbeEs9EgKOurtxFoMXfxuC8IcMp6S6VWGZr6SRqS6E_qbmqua5KDUEHc4vp2Zh4OUT_bCAaV1zTJguTGFSgsb7_MTiHkXJCI/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kAv0kAv0g.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13jMxfCJCDK20n_1xxuCXrsUAb0ti3CVLm4Cibs2X-ZMCBUq0UWClqh1mcVTtbfy77A7twkT4gn0SSevtRWxVnvFZq28hpzHdKvl2zigbJdl9SCdcw26Y75-VA5lIS76VXczTgiCwIAc/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kAP0kAP0g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13jMxfCJCDK20n_1xxuCXrsUAb0ti3CVLm4Cibs2X-ZMCBUq0UWClqh1mcVTtbfy77A7twkT4gn0SSevtRWxVnvFZq28hpzHdKvl2zigbJdl9SCdcw26Y75-VA5lIS76VXczTgiCwIAc/s1600/ZF03ZGL5BQVjBF0kAP0kAP0g.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There are a few big closets up here too, and lots of storage throughout the house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Speaking of storage, the major bonus: a partially-finished basement that houses the washer and dryer, with enough room for a home gym, workshop, and whatever else we fancy putting down there. It's time to start acquiring some more power tools. Bring on the table saw.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A whole closet for holiday decorations?!?!? And there are a few more large closets in the basement too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, so that's the tour for now. It's always possible that the deal will fall apart, but we're very optimistic. The inspection revealed some issues and we're going to get a second opinion on one thing, but it doesn't seem to be anything major that would be a deal breaker. Just some things we'll want to be sure we do (and save up for) within the first year of living there. Being a homeowner sounds kind of terrifying, a few times the inspector was like "your husband will probably know how to do that," and I almost burst out laughing. But it should be a fun adventure, and I'll document all the excitement and terror here on the ol' blog.</span>Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-87090617970961192632014-07-01T16:38:00.002-04:002014-07-01T16:38:43.511-04:00Our WeddingThis may have been the longest hiatus from blogging that I've taken since I started this blog back in 2012, and I've really missed it. The thing is that I haven't been taking a break from DIY, I was just really focused on wedding-related projects for the past few months and I didn't want to post about them before The Big Day. But now that it's come and gone (the planning took forever, the day itself flew by in a nanosecond), I'm excited to share everything with you! This post is mostly about all the major elements and vendors in case anyone is curious (it's quite long...), and then in follow-up posts I'll share more about the various DIY projects I did. [Also, sorry in advance for the somewhat random hodge podge of photos -- we don't have the photos back from the professional photographer yet, but I wanted to get this post up, so I've used photos that our wonderful guests snapped.]<br />
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(Walking back down the aisle after saying "I Do")</div>
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Let me just say that I am not one of those brides who DIY-ed everything and claims to have spent like $150 total on her wedding. We made the decision early on that we wanted to have our wedding in Boston and invite a fairly large crowd (we were prepared to have about 120 people, and ended up with about 100 which felt perfect). This meant that we couldn't hold it at anyone's home (no one we know in Boston has so much space), and therefore we would likely need to hire professional caterers (most venues require this for liability reasons). We had very generous support from our parents to make this wedding possible, and while it was far more than we could have spent on our own we also managed to stay below the national average for weddings (in an expensive city, nonetheless). To keep within our budget while also getting what felt like a dream wedding, we made a list of our priorities and splurged on those things while trimming or eliminating everything else. In wedding planning, hundreds of experts and blogs will tell you about everything You Absolutely Must Have, and the only way to throw an affordable wedding seems to be to ignore this advice and just focus on the things that are most important to you as a couple. Also having 22 months to plan was painful at times, but allowed us to shop around for vendors, find some really great deals, and even lock in rates that by the time our wedding rolled around would have been much higher.<br />
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Here's a basic breakdown of the details -- as you can tell, we were absolutely in love with everyone we worked with and feel so incredibly lucky. I did include some basic financial info in a few instances in case it's helpful to other couples, but I'm always happy to talk at greater length with anyone who'd like more detail. Basically I'm desperate for other people to get married in Boston and use our vendors because they were all so awesome, and the money thing can be so taboo to talk about but is obviously a huge part of the process.<br />
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<b>Ceremony and reception venue: </b><a href="http://www.town.arlington.ma.us/public_documents/ArlingtonMA_Rental/index">Arlington Town Hall</a><br />
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Located right on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, MA about 4 miles from Harvard Square, the Arlington Town Hall is the active home for the Arlington city offices and local functions like Town Meeting, school concerts, etc. However, it's also a gorgeous, historic building (101 years old in 2014) with an incredible reception hall and lovely outdoor gardens. The very reasonable rental fee includes use of all the indoor and outdoor space, and the funds are used to maintain and restore the building which we really liked. Plus the fee is the same whether you're holding a wedding or any other kind of event, which feels nice when the wedding industry seems out to gouge you at every turn. We held our ceremony outside under a tree, our cocktail hour also outside in front of a fountain, and our reception in the auditorium. It was the first and only venue we visited, the first thing we booked for our wedding, and we received so many compliments from our guests about the space. We couldn't have been happier. Plus the space was big enough to allow us flexibility for a great rain plan, which was so reassuring when the forecast was totally up and down the days prior to the wedding.<br />
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We got married under a tree in the gardens</div>
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Cocktail hour on the brick patio near the fountain</div>
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The inside of the Town Hall, as it was being set up before the reception</div>
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<b>Caterers:</b> <a href="http://caperscatering.com/">Capers Catering</a><br />
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We love food, and it was one of our top priorities. We spent almost 50% of our budget on food and drink, and it was 100% worth it. Capers was a pleasure to work with during the planning process, they handled everything so smoothly on the day-of, and the food was incredible. As we made the rounds to visit with our guests, I swear most plates appeared to be licked clean. They were nothing short of amazing on so many fronts -- from logistics to food to decor.<br />
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<b>Day-of wedding coordinator:</b> <a href="http://thedayofevents.com/">Michelle Schaufeld, The Day Of</a><br />
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Given my background in event planning and my control freak tendencies, I knew right away that I wanted to splurge on having someone help with the complex logistics involved in a wedding. However, I also knew that I had the time and interest to do most of the advance planning myself. Michelle specializes in day-of coordination, which was perfect -- she checked in with me every few months during the planning process to see how I was doing and offer ideas on vendors etc as needed, and then about 2 weeks before the wedding I gave her all the information and she and her amazing team took over all the logistics so that Sam and I could completely immerse ourselves in experiencing our wedding day. Before the wedding day, Michelle was a godsend. On the wedding day itself, everything was so easy that I found myself asking, "everything went so smoothly, did we really need the coordination?" That was proof of how amazing Michelle was -- I know from past experience working on events that there were a million things going wrong and needing attention, and the fact that absolutely none of it made it to me and Sam to deal with is testament to her incredible work.<br />
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<b>Photography:</b> <a href="http://www.orlandoclaffey.com/">Orlando Claffey</a><br />
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We like photography, but we were not going to splurge on the insane prices that most wedding photographers charge. Most people were quoting us anywhere from $2,500 - $10,000. Orlando's background is in photojournalism but he started doing weddings a few years ago, so we were able to lock in a very reasonable rate (and then he had another full wedding season before our wedding even rolled around) and his photojournalism style was really appealing. He did an awesome job directing us in the staged couple, wedding party, and family portraits, but for the rest of the evening was so unobtrusive while capturing some really special moments.<br />
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Members of the wedding party peeking through the trees to where Sam and I were seeing each other all dressed up for the first time (aka the "First Look")</div>
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<b>Flowers:</b> <a href="http://www.adfloraldesign.com/">Andrea D'Amelio Designs</a><br />
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Flowers were another place where we didn't want to spend a fortune. The Town Hall and gardens are so beautiful on their own that we knew we didn't need much to decorate them. Originally I thought I might do the flowers myself, but my coordinator convinced me that given my lack of experience with flowers and the fact that they really can't be done much in advance, it was going to make a big difference to enlist a professional. However, she recommended Andrea because she knew how flexible Andrea could be in terms of style and price points. Andrea was so understanding of our budget constraints and made me feel like a star client even though I know our order was very basic (just 14 simple centerpieces in pasta sauce jars that I'd been collecting, a sunflower each for the bridesmaid bouquets, and a bouquet for me). Her work was gorgeous, and she was so friendly to work with -- I never felt pressured to go with anything more expensive or involved than we wanted.<br />
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My incredible bouquet</div>
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Much heavier than it looks, good for clubbing difficult bridesmaids into submission</div>
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<b>Hair and makeup:</b> <a href="http://www.hairandmakeupbynatalie.com/">Hair and Makeup by Natalie</a><br />
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I wanted to look like myself on my wedding day, but also feel confident and beautiful. Natalie is a true talent -- she made me feel like the best version of myself, and also did hair and makeup for my bridesmaids, mom, and mother-in-law in the various styles they wanted. We spent 6 hours with her getting ready on the day-of, and it could have been awkward spending that high pressure time with a stranger -- but she was fun while also being totally professional. Her rates were also exceedingly reasonable given the research I did on other vendors -- definitely worth it given the quality of products she used and her skills. At the end of the day after 14 hours of sweating, crying, dancing, crying, more dancing, etc I still felt like a million dollars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpPFLoGD-7cIXZy3uhZ-t6gNHbdPbnRMZDxFgQBwXoW_LqyA4GmzthO8sh6yn31SG2rrnxPCRd7ofOLsnFjtc5ok-S-Kqc-hhkpitrb7vNvk4uqILWlMYP-TToSDXEnNTvakVtJ_J-ds/s1600/IMG_3117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpPFLoGD-7cIXZy3uhZ-t6gNHbdPbnRMZDxFgQBwXoW_LqyA4GmzthO8sh6yn31SG2rrnxPCRd7ofOLsnFjtc5ok-S-Kqc-hhkpitrb7vNvk4uqILWlMYP-TToSDXEnNTvakVtJ_J-ds/s1600/IMG_3117.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
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Where we started</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4EsNrxVlNLrVTNytEvZC9DjCgJmbB5ySndka2teV6ZB5poQjJK9CR1UcjXfiNKQujgBQ7X-eSRevOZ4UXV8PAs9BNmcxGp3uzyelndNsxs4cqEhTCPCTi9ybXpi6MGSz0MdCwhGVhM4/s1600/14485777485_c0ccbdb571_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4EsNrxVlNLrVTNytEvZC9DjCgJmbB5ySndka2teV6ZB5poQjJK9CR1UcjXfiNKQujgBQ7X-eSRevOZ4UXV8PAs9BNmcxGp3uzyelndNsxs4cqEhTCPCTi9ybXpi6MGSz0MdCwhGVhM4/s1600/14485777485_c0ccbdb571_o.jpg" height="640" width="412" /></a></div>
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The finished look</div>
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<b>Officiant:</b> <a href="http://www.haveyourweddingyourway.com/">Melinda Drew</a>, Justice of the Peace<br />
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We weren't sure what exactly we wanted in an officiant except that we knew didn't want something religious because we come from fairly different religious backgrounds, and we ended up finding a Justice of the Peace, Melinda, who was awesome. We did want the ceremony to be very special and it's not that we wanted to cheap out, but the great thing about a JP is that their fees are governed by law (for Massachusetts JPs, $100 in the town where they're registered and $150 in any other town in the state), so it ended up being a very affordable option compared to what many other kinds of officiants can charge (especially since we don't belong to a church congregation).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvv5agWNzhzmGyLC8X8QLg26kQcqBqlshxGYsybbCroR6fr_hOan5oFuTTRm-TDSyjpbhEg4TltRlsWRPk8sj7sSVJFl6rEPyepoR3iTN2ISXZzAfKmDrmtjQtb4l9W2H2yvWOLjNYvd0/s1600/10455768_803415836337504_3633040055035905045_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvv5agWNzhzmGyLC8X8QLg26kQcqBqlshxGYsybbCroR6fr_hOan5oFuTTRm-TDSyjpbhEg4TltRlsWRPk8sj7sSVJFl6rEPyepoR3iTN2ISXZzAfKmDrmtjQtb4l9W2H2yvWOLjNYvd0/s1600/10455768_803415836337504_3633040055035905045_n.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Music: </b>Family and DIY<br />
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Sam's incredibly talented siblings provided ceremony music for us, and for the reception we prepared our own dinner and dancing playlists from itunes rather than splurging on a DJ or band. We had to put time into thinking about how to get people dancing and the flow of songs, and we spent about $100 buying new music on itunes. But I think everyone had a great time dancing, and it was absolutely worth it to save the $1500 that it would have cost to hire a DJ. We asked Sam's brother, The Best Man, to help us with a little bit of emceeing to make the transitions between toasts, but we tried to keep it all very simple so that he could enjoy the evening for the most part.<br />
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Maddie and Isaac, our exceedingly talented ceremony musicians, who I'm lucky enough to call my sister- and brother-in-law now</div>
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<b>Rentals:</b> Free from the venue<br />
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The Arlington Town Hall came stocked with its own tables and chairs. Based on photos of other weddings there it looks like many people still rent tables (the free ones are rectangular and many people prefer rounds, and the chairs aren't the prettiest), but we went with the free options and didn't regret it for a minute.<br />
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<b>Transportation: </b><a href="http://www.maldencarservice.com/">Malden Car Service</a> and UberSUV<br />
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We hired a car service in advance to send a sedan for me and Sam and the end of the evening, but to get to the venue earlier in the day we relied on UberSUV -- I was a little nervous because you can't order in advance, but I checked the Uber app for weeks in advance and there was never a wait of more than 10 minutes from either our apartment (where I was getting ready with the girls) or the hotel where Sam's brother was staying (where Sam was getting ready with the guys) so we took the plunge. It would have cost us about $250 for two SUVs from Malden Car Service (other places seemed comparable), versus about $80 for two UberSUVs. It's not a huge savings in the grand scheme of things, but when you're devoting so much of your budget to big ticket items (like the food), the little things are really the main thing that can make a dent in the budget -- and they do really add up. I don't think our Uber driver knew what hit him when he showed up and realized he was transporting a wedding party, but he was great.<br />
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Although we would have loved to provide transportation for all our guests, one of the advantages of holding the wedding in the city was that there is decent public transportation and easy access by taxi. There was also ample public parking at the Town Hall, so we let guests know that they could leave their cars overnight if they had driven and wanted to take a taxi home. We made little signs to put in a few places mentioning the transit options to encourage everyone to get home safely.<br />
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<b>Wedding night accommodations: </b>Gift<br />
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Originally we planned to just stay in our apartment on our wedding night since we were getting married three miles away and splurging on a two-week honeymoon. Some of our friends thought that sounded crazy, so as their wedding gift to us they reserved us a lovely room in a nearby hotel (<a href="http://www.charleshotel.com.au/">The Charles Hotel</a>) and included breakfast the following morning at the incredible Henrietta's Table. They also included a gift certificate to Uber, which was perfect given our plans to use Uber to get to the wedding.<br />
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<b>Decor and printed materials: </b>DIY<br />
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I DIYed most of the decorations and printed materials, including:<br />
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* Most of the decorations for both the ceremony and reception<br />
* Save-the-Dates<br />
* Invitations<br />
* Guest Favors<br />
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I'll post more about all the DIY in future posts. In total we spent about $400 on all the above things, including mailing the invitations.<br />
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<b>Attire: </b>Assortment of low-cost and already-owned<br />
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I absolutely loved my dress -- I can't imagine a more perfect gown for myself (even though before finding it, I had no idea what I was looking for). It's definitely the most expensive dress I've ever bought, but I got it from David's Bridal and with the alterations, undergarments, and dress itself I spent about $800 which is a steal compared to what most places get away with charging. I liked that David's has so many affordable options that I felt like I had a wide variety of options to pick from, rather than getting stuck with the cheapest dress at a more upscale boutique. For accessories, I wore $20 blue flats from Payless Shoes, a pearl necklace that belonged to my grandmother, earrings that my dad gave me in my stocking for Christmas, and a small clutch that I sewed myself (for emergency items like advil, bandaids, etc). Sam wore a suit and shirt he already owned, and a tie that matched the ties we got for the groomsmen from <a href="http://www.express.com/">Express</a> (which doubled as the groomsmen gifts). I asked my bridesmaids to wear blue dresses of whatever shade and style they wanted, and then gave them statement coral necklaces that I found on <a href="https://urbanpeachboutique.com/">Urban Peach Boutique</a> as gifts.<br />
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Our beautiful wedding party</div>
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Ignore the gymnastics, just focus on my blue shoes</div>
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<b>Rings</b>: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/RenaissanceJewelry?utm_source=transaction&utm_medium=trans_email&utm_campaign=purchase_buyer">Renaissance Jewelry</a> (on Etsy)<br />
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For wedding bands, we wanted something very simple and inexpensive. I absolutely love my engagement ring (which is lemon quartz with diamond accents, and a white gold band), and I really wanted something that wouldn't try to overshadow it for my wedding band. However, my engagement ring also has an unusual shape so it would need to have a custom-made band if the wedding band were to lie flat alongside it, which wasn't something we wanted to splurge on right now. Thus we thought we'd go for very inexpensive bands right now, allowing us the flexibility to replace them down the road if we want to spend more money (or, more likely, if one of them gets lost or our fingers get fatter, or whatever other things might happen in the next 60 years).<br />
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I did a lot of research on metals, and ultimately decided that titanium was the right thing for us because it is inexpensive, is super lightweight, doesn't tarnish easily, is very durable, but is also soft enough to engrave (unlike other metals like tungsten, which are harder). I found a shop on Etsy, Renaissance Jewelry, where we were able to buy both our rings and get them engraved for $40 each. They seem great so far, but again this gives us flexibility in the future without feeling like we sunk a lot of money into jewelry right now. Sam's is <a href="https://www.etsy.com/transaction/147246668?utm_source=transaction&utm_medium=trans_email&utm_campaign=purchase_buyer">this</a> 4mm men's ring, and mine is <a href="https://www.etsy.com/transaction/147252272?utm_source=transaction&utm_medium=trans_email&utm_campaign=purchase_buyer">this</a> 2mm women's ring.<br />
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We got them engraved with a quote from Arrested Development, which is one of our favorite shows that we've watched over and over since we first started dating: "We finish each other's sandwiches." (The Disney movie Frozen stole this quote from Arrested Development, to be clear). Sam's ring says "We finish each other's..." and mine says "...sandwiches." It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's personal and reflects our love of laughing together (we'll both contend that Arrested Development is the funniest show ever, at least Seasons 1&2).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemwGqQ-v2ynpgLiYaYGXcZCm6SzEOzePsnw60A69nh9okSpocV9A6PtHRI_A_-77JzPDADJF34Nc1nT198-QD5K8quNK9s-NC-_g2tk3oRykv87jqhTwnuzUXj74M-HmHatOwrzumNcQ/s1600/IMG_0820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemwGqQ-v2ynpgLiYaYGXcZCm6SzEOzePsnw60A69nh9okSpocV9A6PtHRI_A_-77JzPDADJF34Nc1nT198-QD5K8quNK9s-NC-_g2tk3oRykv87jqhTwnuzUXj74M-HmHatOwrzumNcQ/s1600/IMG_0820.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Sam's hand during our morning-after brunch -- gotta get used to seeing a ring on his finger!</div>
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So that's a basic overview, I promise to share more about the DIY in future posts (once I get the professional photos back, since our friends and family seemed strangely focused on taking photos of <i>people</i> rather than decor...).Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-77185926698414639342014-04-13T17:10:00.001-04:002014-04-13T17:10:42.577-04:00CrafternoonsRecently a few friends and I started a craft group, where we get together every month or so at one person's apartment to do a craft project. The host picks the craft and buys the supplies, which need to cost $10 or less per person. We've begun to call them "crafternoons," since who doesn't love a good <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau">portmanteau</a>?<br />
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I hosted our first gathering in February, and we stenciled canvas bags similar to the one I made Sam's stepsister for Christmas (full tutorial <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade-christmas-part-ii-monogrammed.html">here</a>). This time I stenciled on both sides of the bag:<br />
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Yes, I realize I was getting a little ahead of myself with my new monogram (STR, for after I change my name from Sage Emily Elizabeth Trombulak to Sage Trombulak Ruth). But since I plan on using the bag well into the future, I figured it was worth it for the next few months of mild awkwardness. Deciding to change my last name was a difficult choice, but now that I've made it I've totally embraced it and am charging headlong into the future.<br />
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At our second crafternoon, we decorated ceramic mugs using stickers, ceramic paint pens, and plain white mugs. There are a million ways to decorate a mug using these supplies, but our host, Molly, suggested a technique where you apply a sticker, use the pen to mark dots all around it, and then peel it away to leave the negative space of the letter. Here's where we ended up:<br />
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We each experimented with different color schemes, and I think they all turned out awesome in their own way. Here are some additional photos of mine, which is in the very back in the above photo:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrz5hRkDynLeXWVl8zIjpoKd7x6bhqOH82_XsF4TpYcbv103I1CoXKI-MJObaOskG3RwFc0gqxWf_vDhletvdrG_66XgaCEvYze-XSuebNTmT9PLncHseHSZJ2esJbjfhr3YHEZrn3mdw/s1600/IMG_0728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrz5hRkDynLeXWVl8zIjpoKd7x6bhqOH82_XsF4TpYcbv103I1CoXKI-MJObaOskG3RwFc0gqxWf_vDhletvdrG_66XgaCEvYze-XSuebNTmT9PLncHseHSZJ2esJbjfhr3YHEZrn3mdw/s1600/IMG_0728.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I got some smudging that I didn't like when I first did the stickers on the sides, so I covered up the negative space with more dots to just create a colorful dot explosion on each side. Then in the spirit of experimentation, I made a small 's' on the back under the handle. Molly discovered that you can use your nails to scrape away any smudges once they've dried, so it's actually pretty easy to clean up any mistakes.</div>
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Once we were done, we just baked the mugs in the oven for 30 minutes to cure them -- supposedly they're dishwasher safe, so we shall see!</div>
<br />Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-62328741533373609822014-03-27T21:23:00.001-04:002014-03-27T21:23:39.261-04:00I can sew!As I mentioned in some past posts, I've been taking a sewing class this winter at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Even though I was already using my sewing machine (which my mom gave me as a birthday gift a few years ago) to do basic things like hemming curtains and making pillow covers, I decided to take the intro level class in order to get a better understanding of my machine and to make sure I really had the fundamentals down. The class was 8 two-hour sessions, with the first four focused on learning specific skills and the last four open time for us to work on a project of our choosing with the instructor available to help us. I really enjoyed starting from scratch to learn basic techniques like sewing and finishing seams, adjusting thread tension, sewing curves, and troubleshooting basic issues. It was also just really nice to have two hours of sewing built into my schedule every week, since it's doubtful I would have motivated myself to spend so much time otherwise. It was nice to have something to look forward to that's so different from how I spend most of my time these days.<br />
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For the second half of the class, I decided to make a pleated bag that I found a <a href="https://app.box.com/shared/apoz9x9ydaegn38dbi39">tutorial</a> for online. Originally I'd wanted to do something that involved a zipper, but some logistical snafus prevented me from doing the project I'd originally planned so the bag was a last-minute decision. But with my new-found sewing confidence, I am ready to take on a zipper project next!<br />
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I won't go through a step-by-step of the project because the free instructions were pretty self-explanatory (though it gives measurements in both centimeters and inches and if you decide to try it for yourself I recommend using the centimeters because I think there's a mistake or two in the translation to inches). I do wish I had taken advantage of the class to learn how to interpret a pattern (this tutorial doesn't involve a pattern, just narrative instructions), but I'm still very pleased with the end result:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90qGaCNLnkDmnimNhbWOk0Ehmx82ENrTVQFKb7bsZSUPvocaq7YqztV4Br4T4iIzI3GRagsFVDyKwjIwoW57Htv0YW1dvtuLHqN-2_ZueMkDVursMxH34xZDqUpH7oycw0wAKgAGlMec/s3200/IMG_0709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90qGaCNLnkDmnimNhbWOk0Ehmx82ENrTVQFKb7bsZSUPvocaq7YqztV4Br4T4iIzI3GRagsFVDyKwjIwoW57Htv0YW1dvtuLHqN-2_ZueMkDVursMxH34xZDqUpH7oycw0wAKgAGlMec/s3200/IMG_0709.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The exterior is pretty muted, but for the interior I picked a really bold pattern. As you can see on the left of the bag in the photo above, there are slits at the top in each side so that the interior fabric peeks out a bit but isn't too overwhelming.</div>
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A close-up showing the pleating across the top. The handles I sewed on by hand on using red thread.</div>
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The exterior and interior fabric are both linen/cotton blends that I got at a local fabric store. The handles I ordered from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/Merrysewingnfabric?campaign_label=receipt_buyer&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=receipt_010170_7297498688_0_0&utm_medium=trans_email">Merry Sewing And Fabric</a> on Etsy.<br />
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I'm so pleased with how it turned out -- it's a pretty spacious and versatile bag, and it's fun walking around with something I made (usually my projects are pretty confined to my apartment). Now I feel emboldened to take on some tougher projects!Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-88654269570313381792014-03-08T21:40:00.002-05:002014-03-08T21:40:58.161-05:00Dwell with DignityI know it's been forever since I last posted. School is definitely a factor, but also I've been channeling my creative energies into other projects that don't lend themselves to blog posts (a sewing class that's just the basics -- and thus not post-worthy -- at this stage, and wedding-related things that I'm not planning to post about until after the big day).<br />
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BUT, I have to tell you about the amazing design-related trip to Dallas I just took. Obviously I have this interest in DIY and design, but in my professional life I'm 100% committed to social impact work and that doesn't intersect with interior design too often. But I also believe that if you find something that ignites your passion, you owe it to yourself to see if you can build a career around it. So last winter I was googling around to see if there was anyone doing anything in the "social impact interior design" space. And that's when I discovered <a href="http://www.dwellwithdignity.org/">Dwell with Dignity</a>, a Dallas-based non-profit that transforms spaces for families in need. They explain:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"If we can change a person’s surroundings, we can change their outlook on life. Exposing children (especially) to a nurturing home environment, that includes good design and art, can inspire a standard of living that will carry-over to future generations. Exposing parents to this same environment will allow them to see the positive impact it has on their family; inspiring them to maintain a standard of living they can be proud of and thrive in."</i></span></span></div>
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I was fascinated by what I saw online, so I reached out to the founders, Kim and Lisa, for an informational phone call last winter. I learned that working with social service agencies that help families on the road to self-sufficiency, the DwD team harnesses the enthusiasm of designers, design firms, and hundreds of volunteers to make over apartments for families grappling with homelessness and poverty. I loved everything I heard, but since they were in Dallas and I was in Boston, there wasn't much to be done but take inspiration from their efforts and comfort myself with the idea that maybe one day I could be involved with work like this.</div>
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And then ten months later, I realized I had the opportunity to do an Independent Project for school and I decided to reach back out. And it turned out that they had a project that they thought I could help on, and before I knew it I was getting on a plane to Dallas courtesy of funding from the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative. And so Friday morning, I found myself here:</div>
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Meeting with Lisa, Kim, Associate Executive Director Lisa N, and the rest of the small (but amazingly productive) DwD team was so energizing. It's absolutely astounding what they've managed to do in the last five years. I won't go into too many details, but I snapped some photos of their impressive operation.</div>
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As I should have expected, the DwD offices are beautiful -- they're located in a small house, and every room is so unique and full of personality and DIY projects. My iphone photos don't do it justice, but here are a few that I snapped in the room that the front door opens into:</div>
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On the wall above the stairs (in the background) of the above photo you can see a painted tree -- it extends up the whole wall alongside the stairs. Here it is at the top of the stairs on the second floor:</div>
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DwD has a many-thousand square foot warehouse where they store all the furniture, home goods, textiles, etc that are donated by the design community and people in the community. DwD uses these elements in their project installations, and also in their annual fundraising event "<a href="http://thriftstudio.com/">Thrift Studio</a>," a 30-day pop-up event where they sell furniture, homewares, and accessories to raise money for the organization's work. It's a genius take on the typical non-profit fundraising gala approach. The warehouse is simply incredible -- rows of products in every direction that will end up brightening people's homes and lives:</div>
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Then there's the studio, where groups of volunteers descend every Wednesday evening to work on painting furniture, DIYing art, and other projects that are personalized for each installation to fit the needs and tastes of the families they'll go to.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdTyXgW3tE3EDKjV6dFtDC-hJ1T_Ok0wz__LCArh2WXSKJxDu73aUDTQY4jJtkpC3M4uZq0OwssOzsHLDFKys0UbPtjuXvNK4tFUb4ya2QCPE8xlp5pOytNHHbFgzpaqqVpfysXBOxDw/s1600/IMG_0209_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdTyXgW3tE3EDKjV6dFtDC-hJ1T_Ok0wz__LCArh2WXSKJxDu73aUDTQY4jJtkpC3M4uZq0OwssOzsHLDFKys0UbPtjuXvNK4tFUb4ya2QCPE8xlp5pOytNHHbFgzpaqqVpfysXBOxDw/s1600/IMG_0209_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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From an organizational management, operations, and strategy perspective, the visit was fascinating. But what really hit me -- and what I really hope to keep with me -- was how excited and moved the team was as they spoke about the work they do. Not many people are fortunate to have jobs that so totally invigorate and excite them. I've been thinking about that a lot lately -- about being honest with myself about what really engages me, not just getting caught up in things that intellectually I feel like I <i>should</i> be passionate about even though the fire isn't really there. I'm okay with the idea that my career may not touch all of my passions -- I'm not sure how I can find something that combines social impact, my family, DIY, fitness, good food, urban planning, and all the other things that will interest me as my life unfolds. But my visit to Dwell with Dignity reminded me what amazing things can happen when people find what ignites them and make that their life work. And I hope I can hold myself to forging a career like that.</div>
Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-14122963347996573662014-02-05T19:38:00.001-05:002014-02-05T19:38:17.754-05:00Playing it a little less (pie) safe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We have an adorable piece of furniture called a pie safe that came from my grandmother (hence the terrible pun in the title of the post). It lives in our study, and we use it to store linens.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8vjDI_IG19jz-3pXmKPqB08XPtwtc4VayibH3IVJ-be_SEA-ZfwJrvrM0gPi__QsNtrhqgRvJ8FFGfpC7QL2AjNeD38By-IXZNOFrzyRFUWKdjnluW3UVz6DMpoSmSZgMzsTo6hcs8w/s1600/IMG_0433+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8vjDI_IG19jz-3pXmKPqB08XPtwtc4VayibH3IVJ-be_SEA-ZfwJrvrM0gPi__QsNtrhqgRvJ8FFGfpC7QL2AjNeD38By-IXZNOFrzyRFUWKdjnluW3UVz6DMpoSmSZgMzsTo6hcs8w/s1600/IMG_0433+2.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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As cute as it is, I felt like it could use a little sprucing up. My first instinct was to paint it, but I decided to hold off on that because who knows how we'll want to use it down the road and the natural wood might be nice in whatever space it ends up in (like a very white kitchen with natural accents). Instead, I decided on a relatively quick and easy project: swapping out the knobs.</div>
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I found two knobs I liked in the discount bin in Anthropologie, and a third at the local hardware store. However, I knew upon purchasing them that I would have a bit of an issue: the stems were much too long for the pie safe doors, as evidenced below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOUWbHe7MIjkQlWkqvmaAw1510RF_O5ZVRAidEuyBfACkvT3Rq5I_I6dAm5z_kYBqYUwnae2AQ0asrsbU-E9srYvIIlLycDzDYQmQixbhJYuU0nmXDzjWIh9IA3OvmE36GPfVmUtLc4w/s1600/IMG_0608_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOUWbHe7MIjkQlWkqvmaAw1510RF_O5ZVRAidEuyBfACkvT3Rq5I_I6dAm5z_kYBqYUwnae2AQ0asrsbU-E9srYvIIlLycDzDYQmQixbhJYuU0nmXDzjWIh9IA3OvmE36GPfVmUtLc4w/s1600/IMG_0608_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Normally this would be a big obstacle for me, but enter one of my new amazing Christmas presents from my dad and stepmom: a dremel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9E_CqB2bx_LWao3oKgG69SNenswX9pwy7e8eKC7DFZcoicWUEAl4wougTqJYHsZfrd7UeVk9u5wllyJbGTzcud5egiP2gH-IeJ1P5LOTyMUxjXDdXGmkij63-N-rhT9A59eTR9xj4zo/s1600/IMG_0613_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9E_CqB2bx_LWao3oKgG69SNenswX9pwy7e8eKC7DFZcoicWUEAl4wougTqJYHsZfrd7UeVk9u5wllyJbGTzcud5egiP2gH-IeJ1P5LOTyMUxjXDdXGmkij63-N-rhT9A59eTR9xj4zo/s1600/IMG_0613_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Using the dremel, it took me about 5 minutes to fix the issue -- 4.5 minutes to figure out how the dremel works, and 30 seconds to trim the knobs to size. Here's a (terrible) shot of the dremel in action (kind of hard to use and photograph at the same time):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeR23uRIu3Og3kVQ6qhgFT8A3iOqIyS8Mp8J90mwtVxV1umoTKvYFwinzMFfibytxVwBMhxzoyRDNSZbmo8_1ZYWBAJM8_vLEBZXQYNYtvRQXdiVphIhPt_t37zWS_Ez0vh-mJ-Uhv4I/s1600/IMG_0609_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeR23uRIu3Og3kVQ6qhgFT8A3iOqIyS8Mp8J90mwtVxV1umoTKvYFwinzMFfibytxVwBMhxzoyRDNSZbmo8_1ZYWBAJM8_vLEBZXQYNYtvRQXdiVphIhPt_t37zWS_Ez0vh-mJ-Uhv4I/s1600/IMG_0609_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And the finished result, a nice close cut:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBX480xQUyMTSGPQt9GS4mrfanEMLB3IQLY0rrydIEwN90TdjD100sn_kLqLyHMfhXSmyJniRxhz27P7Oh6lxBwK7UwWYsmB2rbwX8ZtVA-J3y79WhD4BLIWPLvq5hlP3nBXb5jPZZWr0/s1600/IMG_0611_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBX480xQUyMTSGPQt9GS4mrfanEMLB3IQLY0rrydIEwN90TdjD100sn_kLqLyHMfhXSmyJniRxhz27P7Oh6lxBwK7UwWYsmB2rbwX8ZtVA-J3y79WhD4BLIWPLvq5hlP3nBXb5jPZZWr0/s1600/IMG_0611_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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A shot of the top knob in better lighting:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4ERGsdP00HzvtBrqKnAe-zzGn6fjZYo1JEIxvvaHX0FRjvfkHqIyF8D4l_BaB7ISPUCQmi1Fjc6bBYtRj7gWF5xcy7DKEa4CvtvV0nwb8RyEiBE-uL00uMq8qTAdpvV6sCiIg46yFpU/s1600/IMG_0622_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4ERGsdP00HzvtBrqKnAe-zzGn6fjZYo1JEIxvvaHX0FRjvfkHqIyF8D4l_BaB7ISPUCQmi1Fjc6bBYtRj7gWF5xcy7DKEa4CvtvV0nwb8RyEiBE-uL00uMq8qTAdpvV6sCiIg46yFpU/s1600/IMG_0622_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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And it was similarly easy to add the other two. Here's the middle one:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGrnSChLhC5Gm8w3BVO9OBAA-bzbmebOjfZlMQF6rJGkVaZmSiN1dYHgOC_C7bAmw2fwwELpL1tBAyjRwzWNqm4wFp-NRFOPJ4dKt5s8iI0bWhxGyQgtisJB5b5Cgb0rdaDn_0wl5U-E/s1600/IMG_0621_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGrnSChLhC5Gm8w3BVO9OBAA-bzbmebOjfZlMQF6rJGkVaZmSiN1dYHgOC_C7bAmw2fwwELpL1tBAyjRwzWNqm4wFp-NRFOPJ4dKt5s8iI0bWhxGyQgtisJB5b5Cgb0rdaDn_0wl5U-E/s1600/IMG_0621_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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The bottom pull was originally black:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK63ZA6PIl8n4Ro0xHZVz9OeTL1KsuJHxL5Mq36WVYhfk93SHr8VjFgvNuDhxYWyJ2ei7HXDD6I8uXShC39_tka1iGPLnwDuIT-IL4NJrZMJqKufixRyDC_KwgocfSBTjbc8w2ZRS7NI/s1600/IMG_0614_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK63ZA6PIl8n4Ro0xHZVz9OeTL1KsuJHxL5Mq36WVYhfk93SHr8VjFgvNuDhxYWyJ2ei7HXDD6I8uXShC39_tka1iGPLnwDuIT-IL4NJrZMJqKufixRyDC_KwgocfSBTjbc8w2ZRS7NI/s1600/IMG_0614_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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To make it fit in with the other two pulls, I used some craft paint I had on hand to create a light turquoise color.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEvb7542CDmhPRP6N9EUngwPhXy5LN5WYzAgedlKdnYgiFVpYWTIOE2Kiu_58fz_xRXLNyF-7qR63gaxh1wygndLE56oM7EBmS0mvDamc1YtCeRS0_ZTnOV9Jkqrz9PoAj7_j7YeTciM/s1600/IMG_0616_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEvb7542CDmhPRP6N9EUngwPhXy5LN5WYzAgedlKdnYgiFVpYWTIOE2Kiu_58fz_xRXLNyF-7qR63gaxh1wygndLE56oM7EBmS0mvDamc1YtCeRS0_ZTnOV9Jkqrz9PoAj7_j7YeTciM/s1600/IMG_0616_edited-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I only used one coat of paint, to leave it with a somewhat roughed-up vintage look:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudowNlhQpFez29mOwLLsJW_2cn2iu53bVizNqCsnR9GXCzjq6MsgL9vzhyJ9BziGEOScGRhszhyRNch0g-oqVwWAWFSqWayPpDDMi4nVffDnl2LvowEggJ1mCpbET7Rde8lBMKSDxzXw/s1600/IMG_0618_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgudowNlhQpFez29mOwLLsJW_2cn2iu53bVizNqCsnR9GXCzjq6MsgL9vzhyJ9BziGEOScGRhszhyRNch0g-oqVwWAWFSqWayPpDDMi4nVffDnl2LvowEggJ1mCpbET7Rde8lBMKSDxzXw/s1600/IMG_0618_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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And here's the pie safe with the updated knobs:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGCNNLMMFA9Y9ylHjC3N22lXBagYYam0NqsCxA3JA3pHV7k_LKkHuToNYbo_m_KO1td8qpAsLuatwbC24Y_1gnHrERpRSsCukgTG_Mj2xoZ3oxTdOEmDjiDJStKZxCItvjcUSpyA9LII/s1600/IMG_0617_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGCNNLMMFA9Y9ylHjC3N22lXBagYYam0NqsCxA3JA3pHV7k_LKkHuToNYbo_m_KO1td8qpAsLuatwbC24Y_1gnHrERpRSsCukgTG_Mj2xoZ3oxTdOEmDjiDJStKZxCItvjcUSpyA9LII/s1600/IMG_0617_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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A very quick and inexpensive project, but I like the new look for now!Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-83423127252894222112014-01-25T14:19:00.003-05:002014-01-25T14:19:41.510-05:00Homemade Christmas Part VI: Infinity Scarves for Everyone!The final post in my DIY Christmas series!<br />
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For some of the fashionable ladies in my life (my stepmom, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law), I decided to make simple infinity scarves. This was a very straightforward project, though it does require a sewing machine. I was able to use just 1 yard of fabric for each (~60 inches wide if possible), and I picked fabric with some stretch and softness. I got the fabric at a fabric store near where I live -- the selection wasn't as wide as I'd have liked (though I do love what I picked out for each of them -- I think they fit their individual styles well), but later I found that Fabric.com has a really good selection of stretch knits so that's a good option for the future.<br />
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For each scarf, first I folded the fabric lengthwise with the right sides facing each other (so the wrong sides facing out). Then I sewed a straight seam along the raw edges, leaving me with a tube of fabric.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuQWKgUBuI6hIiuE9yQtavmdy8hxoO_lNxpe9AlJ2KzQqN9G5IBpYQ5Pj-RYTPfpHG0WGFI_JIsTY0eXhxBmRliUNTHhneOkJu46ge8wf5CnwdefkWQixbJY_XAiqouwUz-MH4FN5Z9U/s1600/IMG_0606_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuQWKgUBuI6hIiuE9yQtavmdy8hxoO_lNxpe9AlJ2KzQqN9G5IBpYQ5Pj-RYTPfpHG0WGFI_JIsTY0eXhxBmRliUNTHhneOkJu46ge8wf5CnwdefkWQixbJY_XAiqouwUz-MH4FN5Z9U/s1600/IMG_0606_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(This really helpful photo shows what fabric being sewn looks like...)</span></div>
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Then I turned the tube right-side-out. This next part is the trickiest (though not hard at all) and also a bit tricky to explain, but here's my best shot: take the two ends of the tube, and sew them together. If you imagine the openings at the ends as two circles, you're essentially placing the edges of the circles up against each other and then sewing down the matched up edges until you have just a few inches left (you can't sew all the way around because the circles have to be a little open for the sewing machine to reach the seams). Then just use a simple hand stitch the close the opening.<br />
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And that's it! Here are some shots of the scarves in action:<br />
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My sister-in-law (sorry for the candid photo, Maddie):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKFDUbwbLQKHnP5hy3hmW8p6EqFOh-5oj7qw-W5t0nyFdQhOSMo1WdljSO1sqJjll9obISSL4c4fPApYGzO5oyl4ycYPgQmKlfinTmmqsO9OHn8p-6LlIfGJC8uq_N1YWhO3vNrPZbnY/s1600/photo+2+(2)_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKFDUbwbLQKHnP5hy3hmW8p6EqFOh-5oj7qw-W5t0nyFdQhOSMo1WdljSO1sqJjll9obISSL4c4fPApYGzO5oyl4ycYPgQmKlfinTmmqsO9OHn8p-6LlIfGJC8uq_N1YWhO3vNrPZbnY/s1600/photo+2+(2)_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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My stepmom:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWrlGp5Br_S2WaeSSbwIQ1VRXKfTtsjNrtoQwRAzmCsQqfA_jFBPfPC-OyIVammClJUe0EQa6UMznAflWUPNvyawWNeIufnuBMB0pcONEZ2hQT9uvDq6itgxxdX4qW4N9fe_NMhAPgow/s1600/photo+1+(2)_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWrlGp5Br_S2WaeSSbwIQ1VRXKfTtsjNrtoQwRAzmCsQqfA_jFBPfPC-OyIVammClJUe0EQa6UMznAflWUPNvyawWNeIufnuBMB0pcONEZ2hQT9uvDq6itgxxdX4qW4N9fe_NMhAPgow/s1600/photo+1+(2)_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I forgot to get one of my mother-in-law, but the fabric in the sewing machine picture is what I used for hers. And then I got a bit obsessed and bought more fabric from the internet to sew some for myself and a few friends with birthdays.... Here are two I made for myself (not exactly the Christmas spirit -- but at least I gave gifts that I would be willing to wear myself!).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gfSXMmeycTNXI1u9lL_kxuV4LgVRuEi_UWJhtxVqS1_TB_t9CfMi5tuy7WjNGTf-2J9AsFoYYAzBVuYG564TQhdYyob_ppsx6Hgw4_skhmf_pJ5Rq62ya1QtYLAn2C7W0pJpLjp8tw8/s1600/scarf+%231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gfSXMmeycTNXI1u9lL_kxuV4LgVRuEi_UWJhtxVqS1_TB_t9CfMi5tuy7WjNGTf-2J9AsFoYYAzBVuYG564TQhdYyob_ppsx6Hgw4_skhmf_pJ5Rq62ya1QtYLAn2C7W0pJpLjp8tw8/s1600/scarf+%231.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TxnRMXsOMN1JtraqfwDLookeZKC7rK-orO9mGjf4JAS_fuBFd-y4ncU6X6KS9ZHA-YZVqtbV9w5I3eaErMkLKJBVFZfWelueKbYVfuPFvUYOaupBGxUETFvzlpP2UreUnsOJl6Ez9uo/s1600/scarf+%232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TxnRMXsOMN1JtraqfwDLookeZKC7rK-orO9mGjf4JAS_fuBFd-y4ncU6X6KS9ZHA-YZVqtbV9w5I3eaErMkLKJBVFZfWelueKbYVfuPFvUYOaupBGxUETFvzlpP2UreUnsOJl6Ez9uo/s1600/scarf+%232.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I never quite know how to wrap scarves, so for me an infinity scarf is perfect because it's so easy!Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-43140989139899843332014-01-21T13:19:00.001-05:002014-01-21T13:19:42.791-05:00Homemade Christmas Part V: Cookbook of Past TriumphsWelcome to Part V of my DIY Christmas posts.<br />
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As I've mentioned before, Sam's brother is an amazing artist, so I wasn't about to try taking on something artistic that he could have made ten times better and ten times faster for himself. Instead, I decided on a simple little project that I thought would be fun, which was a DIY cookbook based on dishes that he's cooked before. He enjoys cooking for himself and often posts photos on facebook of his finished creations with little descriptions, so I collected all the photos and had them printed through Picplum, an online service that specializes in Instagram photos (since the dimensions are different than normal prints from a place like CVS). I was very happy with the quality of the prints but I have to say I wasn't a fan of the customer service -- I got an error message the first time I clicked "submit" on the photos so I did it again, and then was immediately charged for two orders. I emailed five times over the course of a week to say I only wanted one order, but never heard back from anyone at the company (and there's no other way to contact them). Eventually I just had to fight the duplicate charge through my credit card company (and Amex was very good about reversing it), but it irks me that no one ever wrote back. So that's just a little note for anyone who is thinking about what service to use for printing Instagram photos -- I don't really endorse Picplum.<br />
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<i>Anyway</i>, once I had the 4x4 photos, I bought a simple blank notebook and attached one photo to every other page using double-sided tape. Then below the photo I wrote the description of the meal, and left a little space for notes. There are still a lot of blank pages so Isaac can add to it over time if he wants. Here are some sample entries:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrAjYWAbvOF9NEu69lfImOjSUwL21CmMkJY-PJoxnXqO5usLpsy2TH_tv1T18YoOn8_0njhoQt-xmX1TKNAokl4mvMwyZ_xnJyxPdl51nJAh-GpMSqDj4323Bj_KIZzRjTS7Gf_foNFk/s1600/IMG_0601_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrAjYWAbvOF9NEu69lfImOjSUwL21CmMkJY-PJoxnXqO5usLpsy2TH_tv1T18YoOn8_0njhoQt-xmX1TKNAokl4mvMwyZ_xnJyxPdl51nJAh-GpMSqDj4323Bj_KIZzRjTS7Gf_foNFk/s1600/IMG_0601_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6P-3dGPaV02-Ht4_h_EKGsschyphenhyphennxCIVFvsO9JS5EnnQl6RYcQM5Tc9Zq-65ljSTYtfFiguMmu8rdNg507lYqGHwZS_zP87H8m9vUR-CyEmzJjhB27JidGC9y3AuaS5E8e-MPuLLe4_E/s1600/IMG_0602_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6P-3dGPaV02-Ht4_h_EKGsschyphenhyphennxCIVFvsO9JS5EnnQl6RYcQM5Tc9Zq-65ljSTYtfFiguMmu8rdNg507lYqGHwZS_zP87H8m9vUR-CyEmzJjhB27JidGC9y3AuaS5E8e-MPuLLe4_E/s1600/IMG_0602_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmijs5tAKFXzhavsQ3vBjD2oHnsQReniABCIkKHWF6CEzC4jkeQMfN8_KZRq2WslZ0Js3GB3Xs39iq-lzM5BWZ6rEeIskf2w061027CY3k7KbuztOQipO3MsrUSmnWwulyGIaHHa26TwU/s1600/IMG_0603_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmijs5tAKFXzhavsQ3vBjD2oHnsQReniABCIkKHWF6CEzC4jkeQMfN8_KZRq2WslZ0Js3GB3Xs39iq-lzM5BWZ6rEeIskf2w061027CY3k7KbuztOQipO3MsrUSmnWwulyGIaHHa26TwU/s1600/IMG_0603_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR_bCtmvi-Tr62HZSOxgCX5oJjLDTB5lB0zsaGPLwrYOefK2vxIEnXvDtzIqbSltF91adKR96F8bRT14PWmpLnBlPrABtaKosUeFeVVWozRnkEndnVZAshPojRHu2Hmpqw-HofCb-o_E/s1600/IMG_0604_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR_bCtmvi-Tr62HZSOxgCX5oJjLDTB5lB0zsaGPLwrYOefK2vxIEnXvDtzIqbSltF91adKR96F8bRT14PWmpLnBlPrABtaKosUeFeVVWozRnkEndnVZAshPojRHu2Hmpqw-HofCb-o_E/s1600/IMG_0604_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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For the front, I cut out a square of white lightweight card stock and mod podged it to the cover. I decided to call it "The Tried and True Cookbook."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlnl8M7z6jrYugGWhQru2RNXjfyoCe3QknfSCIrIdeJRXQU3WSY58CvsEkXWUi5xuT7kqu2DZtfgMZ8BI0f6YhMVBgxgHI8tx5Au57ASXv5th3ZjqTnzqrHqdpGLIW_qRqTE4CCkfthw/s1600/IMG_0600_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlnl8M7z6jrYugGWhQru2RNXjfyoCe3QknfSCIrIdeJRXQU3WSY58CvsEkXWUi5xuT7kqu2DZtfgMZ8BI0f6YhMVBgxgHI8tx5Au57ASXv5th3ZjqTnzqrHqdpGLIW_qRqTE4CCkfthw/s1600/IMG_0600_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The idea is that if Isaac is thinking about what to cook, he can flip through it and see things he's successfully made and enjoyed in the past as inspiration. Maybe I'm just projecting what I would find helpful for my own cooking adventures, but I think it could be handy as he's developing a repertoire of dishes. And looking at this has reminded me that I haven't eaten lunch yet....Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-68231025070371548252014-01-16T12:31:00.004-05:002014-01-16T12:31:47.089-05:00Learning to SketchI'm interrupting the the stream of Christmas DIYs with something slightly different, but I'll finish recapping the Christmas presents next week I promise.<br />
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One of my New Year's Resolutions was to learn <a href="http://www.sketchup.com/?gclid=CJjzpLyT_LsCFRBnOgod3yMAhA">Google SketchUp</a>, a 3D modeling software used by architects, designers, engineers, etc. There's a very powerful free version that I've played around with in the past, but I never really got the hang of it. This time I decided to really commit and watched a lot of online tutorials, which definitely helped me get over the hump. For anyone looking to learn, I really recommend the tutorials on YouTube under the name "SketchUp: A 3D ToolBox." Each tutorial is ~20 minutes long and covers a specific topic, from basics to way more advanced tools. Since I'm particularly interested in using it for modeling interior spaces, I watched the series of tutorials on designing a house, and that helped me master a lot of different techniques like windows and doors, moulding, cabinets, etc.<br />
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I decided that the best way to learn was to try modeling a place I know and love: my apartment. I thought that if I was modeling a fictitious space, it would be much easier for me to let the details and mistakes slide, whereas if I was trying to recreate a real place I would be fastidious about learning the techniques needed to get things as close to accurate as possible.<br />
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The cool thing about SketchUp is that you can build pretty much anything you want, but there's also a 3D warehouse full of items that other people have built and uploaded that you can download for free and then use/customize. So I built the structure of the apartment myself, but then was able to furnish it using a lot of models other folks had created (with a lot of customization of colors and textures). So without further ado, here's the 3D rendering of my apartment:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdxHQBc3EK9pLXhYzzkLfHalCIKQDDWiCrBnGGhi4Ts_ADbZiyzNT_5HGVoie7FwOoVtHGxLVJk8d2NILfZ3IjQbZt9I2CbuMJQve6f7HvvyGfrvnYZeer0uBZxpywEYcKutfFHNJd4U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.49.33+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdxHQBc3EK9pLXhYzzkLfHalCIKQDDWiCrBnGGhi4Ts_ADbZiyzNT_5HGVoie7FwOoVtHGxLVJk8d2NILfZ3IjQbZt9I2CbuMJQve6f7HvvyGfrvnYZeer0uBZxpywEYcKutfFHNJd4U/s640/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.49.33+PM.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4XCtEE10CgI9vp50M_UWsBAvH7p2AmryVQC4z6-msrRNLNHP5JNwSSxsdBb0-vBs-JZTgzUDAwnkR1xU6HuiQrKsup4BVviGWbHHsQibGqZUNzKuuCI9MAmroXO3Sh6Q5Ev0BCljKbM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.50.24+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4XCtEE10CgI9vp50M_UWsBAvH7p2AmryVQC4z6-msrRNLNHP5JNwSSxsdBb0-vBs-JZTgzUDAwnkR1xU6HuiQrKsup4BVviGWbHHsQibGqZUNzKuuCI9MAmroXO3Sh6Q5Ev0BCljKbM/s640/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.50.24+PM.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></div>
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Living room:</div>
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Study:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGt46DfOWb0UzfNw01VykyiAFoe5pfjL_os7r1389co-_jdvrw_fS6qrEO9Sf3Q-EfihcYapySoFTivqw0d1Vf1VeHoBLGQN8DQGWxsTHnjmR3Gj4_TiyHgM5jx5kMNiOj4Uv1FJ1CvM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.51.55+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGt46DfOWb0UzfNw01VykyiAFoe5pfjL_os7r1389co-_jdvrw_fS6qrEO9Sf3Q-EfihcYapySoFTivqw0d1Vf1VeHoBLGQN8DQGWxsTHnjmR3Gj4_TiyHgM5jx5kMNiOj4Uv1FJ1CvM/s640/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.51.55+PM.jpg" height="332" width="640" /></a></div>
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Bedroom:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSMf1LZINKet_2qCKLoWSlw-SyvXqb8z0TwBjgEfGglmtax5em79kFcfFAl8YCQTvlbs4UzknrU-tADO2ynfCj-EpI6ys6M_aI83w9HBvgJgWn5AwGUt5nLGTdTXEkrLkc4uDdxA-VXg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.52.26+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSMf1LZINKet_2qCKLoWSlw-SyvXqb8z0TwBjgEfGglmtax5em79kFcfFAl8YCQTvlbs4UzknrU-tADO2ynfCj-EpI6ys6M_aI83w9HBvgJgWn5AwGUt5nLGTdTXEkrLkc4uDdxA-VXg/s640/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.52.26+PM.jpg" height="376" width="640" /></a></div>
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Kitchen:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eDuhCU0JiX8DKBbD-13vV96UPb5c-RE09Kf2RBBrPu2Zj_tKV4cA02mcc2Y_pZ_BKJwDJjQiKKAkyfxIXkCz1vOEwmGs5bTIpG85CHQRnvQ9TDcQw3icVwC-I4tFkVZEi2KIspAoyhI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.53.09+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eDuhCU0JiX8DKBbD-13vV96UPb5c-RE09Kf2RBBrPu2Zj_tKV4cA02mcc2Y_pZ_BKJwDJjQiKKAkyfxIXkCz1vOEwmGs5bTIpG85CHQRnvQ9TDcQw3icVwC-I4tFkVZEi2KIspAoyhI/s640/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.53.09+PM.jpg" height="346" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hallway:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EJ5xBe3GyXf8tZxwrB539v_CWDTmabAuiPJSJmMBGjei-01UDLiS5w_4hCKj4lZK8z8U5u01GnXWsfYd5lhDU_9YCtMg47sztb_KVuxorF0F4sG_lc7259FXyRQYS-2Jp0WGKc9TzkI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.58.52+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EJ5xBe3GyXf8tZxwrB539v_CWDTmabAuiPJSJmMBGjei-01UDLiS5w_4hCKj4lZK8z8U5u01GnXWsfYd5lhDU_9YCtMg47sztb_KVuxorF0F4sG_lc7259FXyRQYS-2Jp0WGKc9TzkI/s640/Screen+Shot+2014-01-13+at+4.58.52+PM.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div>
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And if you're curious what the empty rooms are, they're either closets (the very small ones), our kitchen pantry (right off the kitchen), or spaces outside of our apartment leading to the unit above (like at the front and back of the house).<br />
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I have to admit that I got a tad obsessed with it, especially when it came time to customize a lot of the furniture and artwork and it really started to look like home. But having so much fun with it definitely made it super easy to learn!<br />
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If you're interested in seeing more of the details that these snapshots don't capture, you can view it in SketchUp (which is free and easy to download) using <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/h156znmqgce21le/Beacon%20St%20Manor%20Apt.skp">this link</a> to the file. Maybe it's a little creepy that I'm letting you navigate around my home in so much detail, but mostly I think it's pretty darn cool.Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-22575112684161350272014-01-13T16:33:00.002-05:002014-01-13T16:33:53.854-05:00Homemade Christmas Part IV: Wood-mounted PhotosContinuing my quest to make my Christmas presents for my family this year, I decided to do a similar project for both my dad and Sam's dad and stepmom. My dad always asks for photos on his Christmas wish list, and Sam's dad and stepmom got married last year on New Year's Day so I thought they would enjoy one of their wedding photos displayed nicely somehow.<br />
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Rather than just simply framing some photos, I decided to mount them on wood plaques. First I printed copies of the photos I wanted to use at CVS. Then I used mod podge to glue them to wood plaques that I bought at Michaels, and added some additional topcoats of mod podge over each photo to protect it. To make it look more polished, I used stained glass foiling tape leftover from the <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade-christmas-part-iii-photo.html">photo collage project</a> I did for Sam's stepdad to make a small frame around each of the photos. Here's one up close:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCvvD6Pa5qB1nvF5pCZ6K2yWerTRHLgpGWbcr9hxfJUepgHYz2rb89fxpn0EPRuTVOuoq6uvutzFBJbEHRP8NWkat3X_WAyUhpBTS7-biMz2fyvVHyQfvI42e__cJaWlG3mvVQkRlbVk/s1600/IMG_0595_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCvvD6Pa5qB1nvF5pCZ6K2yWerTRHLgpGWbcr9hxfJUepgHYz2rb89fxpn0EPRuTVOuoq6uvutzFBJbEHRP8NWkat3X_WAyUhpBTS7-biMz2fyvVHyQfvI42e__cJaWlG3mvVQkRlbVk/s640/IMG_0595_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My dad and stepmom on a motorcycle trip this summer -- they ended up being fairly close to Sam's mom's lake house in Upstate New York right when we were visiting, so we went o grab coffee with them one morning and I snapped this great photo.</span></div>
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I also attached picture hanging brackets to each one for easy hanging:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBO1vsSwAynbm8UPl57mUzo0-FvJTiMmb0mTsqVE31DlCePZkRkDE1Jzia6czN_UozcR1mOAPub83llZT-kMmCXPzZCLp8L_0zCJknKTLAWWrzMFvtdSMgIl2SfusYA9nw63SN1I3QWV8/s1600/IMG_0599_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBO1vsSwAynbm8UPl57mUzo0-FvJTiMmb0mTsqVE31DlCePZkRkDE1Jzia6czN_UozcR1mOAPub83llZT-kMmCXPzZCLp8L_0zCJknKTLAWWrzMFvtdSMgIl2SfusYA9nw63SN1I3QWV8/s640/IMG_0599_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are all three completed:<br />
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The two on the bottom were for my dad, and the one on the top were for Sam's dad and stepmom. I also made another present for Sam's dad and stepmom that I totally forgot to photograph: right after their wedding, I bought a clear glass Christmas ornament and filled it with items from their wedding ceremony like my corsage and strips of their wedding program. I stashed it away in my craft closet, and fortunately remembered to pull it back out almost a year later to give them as a gift for Christmas/their one-year anniversary. Gotta love when advance planning makes presents even easier!</div>
Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-28689385950460097742014-01-09T15:54:00.001-05:002014-01-09T15:54:12.532-05:00Homemade Christmas Part III: Photo CollageWelcome to Part III of Homemade Christmas (see Parts <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade-christmas-part-i-what-do-you.html">I</a> and <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade-christmas-part-ii-monogrammed.html">II</a> for the projects I've already shared). Figuring out what to make Sam's stepdad, Bob, was another challenging one -- he likes reading, spending time outdoors, puttering around the house, corgis, and all things relating to the summer lake house he and Sam's mom bought in Upstate New York a few years ago. Though I'm sure I could have come up with some kitschy corgi items, I decided to go with the lake house as inspiration. The house gets closed up during the winter, but Bob loves to keep tabs on the weather and temperature up there, and during the summer they spend months there relaxing and exploring. Sam's brother is a fabulous photographer and has taken some really nice photos up there, and I thought Bob might enjoy some sort of variation on a photo collage so he could enjoy the view from the house even when they're not there.<br />
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I wanted to do something a little different, though, and in my online searching for photo collage ideas came across an idea from <a href="http://mandyford.blogspot.com/2012/05/diy-urban-outfitters-wall-art.html">This Girl's Life</a> for an adaptation of a photo collage she saw in Urban Outfitters. Here's the project Mandy did (on the right) next to the Urban Outfitters Inspiration:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZg4eaxgwpDvAexxeDGlGCpMz74oMdWft72xsklfzjtpZJ-zRt0MCwArsJaxST9HkkEfGqz0ghQ8w-OUKkLlTNNGMjQtHxDLNNg60S0J7R0Ll71UTzMAR9rc8v0fKnu4z0aYyqKC0GF0/s1600/This+Girls+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZg4eaxgwpDvAexxeDGlGCpMz74oMdWft72xsklfzjtpZJ-zRt0MCwArsJaxST9HkkEfGqz0ghQ8w-OUKkLlTNNGMjQtHxDLNNg60S0J7R0Ll71UTzMAR9rc8v0fKnu4z0aYyqKC0GF0/s1600/This+Girls+Life.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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I really liked her approach, and thought that photos of the lake would lend themselves very nicely to something similar. To pull it off, I needed a large canvas, mod podge, stained glass foiling tape (for the edging), and photos of the lake sized to fit in a grid.<br />
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I already had a canvas on hand, and based on its dimensions I determined that 5"x5" photos would work best. First I found my favorite shots of the lake, then played around with cropping and duplicating them until I had 12 variations that I liked. I made each image 5"x5" but on a 5"x7" "canvas" (I use Adobe Photoshop Elements to edit photos) so that I could easily print them at CVS as 5x7s and then trim them to size.<br />
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I laid them out on the canvas and played around with their placement until I liked the arrangement, then used matte mod podge to glue them to the canvas (I think glossy mod podge could look good too, but I worried about it looking too much like the magazine collages I made as a kid so I went with matte). Then I applied a few coats of the mod podge over the top, allowing each coat to dry in between. Here's what it looked like as the first top coat of mod podge was drying:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagWqHFRtu2odfdJytHtE3Zgj-hRhC0Y7TFA5aicLE_EF_Y-iBDU_lLHmWaOOd-0yc6rn8tGV9_f6MzGtdHvjeW37RpouJIFZ67mN_cHY3YZupl1yMVzHAwLpokU_xu4t0Wz6WmLHHmrw/s1600/IMG_0569_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagWqHFRtu2odfdJytHtE3Zgj-hRhC0Y7TFA5aicLE_EF_Y-iBDU_lLHmWaOOd-0yc6rn8tGV9_f6MzGtdHvjeW37RpouJIFZ67mN_cHY3YZupl1yMVzHAwLpokU_xu4t0Wz6WmLHHmrw/s1600/IMG_0569_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Michael's didn't have stained glass foiling tape, but I was able to order it on Amazon. It comes in a package like this:<br />
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I was a little nervous about using it because normally materials that are both delicate and sticky are really hard to work with. However, this was incredibly easy to use -- I just cut each piece to the length I wanted, removed the sticky backing, and applied it to the canvas. After laying each piece down where I wanted it, I ran the handles of my scissors along it to make sure it was firmly adhered. The tape was great for the lines between the photos, as well as for creating a more finished look along the edges. Here's the finished result:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjALeheiU2fjXg0sUjOiEUnzxv87taHS1TkbGBBvI2BSokd-X6EjPIFLqkg9HP5bfPXK1uJngFlmTJgSyXRFFaqXfAsPg1WAu7Vx2-NefwmjXq-wud54Ck9S2Sc3SKdLn4uBEJ1QsxGAs/s1600/IMG_0576_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjALeheiU2fjXg0sUjOiEUnzxv87taHS1TkbGBBvI2BSokd-X6EjPIFLqkg9HP5bfPXK1uJngFlmTJgSyXRFFaqXfAsPg1WAu7Vx2-NefwmjXq-wud54Ck9S2Sc3SKdLn4uBEJ1QsxGAs/s1600/IMG_0576_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="542" /></a></div>
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Another shot, showing how I molded the tape around the edges of the canvas:<br />
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It's nothing fancy, but I think it turned out nicely!Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-14852776967511869122014-01-06T14:10:00.000-05:002014-01-06T14:10:23.725-05:00Homemade Christmas Part II: Monogrammed ToteIn <a href="http://beaconstmanor.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade-christmas-part-i-what-do-you.html">Part I</a> of my "Homemade Christmas" posts, I explained that I decided to make all of my presents for family members this Christmas, and I shared a tutorial for the beer coasters I made my brother. Next up is the monogrammed tote bag that I made for Sam's stepsister, Amelia. Amelia's birthday is a few days after Christmas, so this is actually more of a birthday present.<br />
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I came across the idea of using a doily to stencil a canvas bag (courtesy of <a href="http://itsgreattobehome.net/2009/12/30/a-dash-of-doily/">it's great to be home</a>), and thought it would be perfect for Amelia, who turned 12 this birthday. The supplies I needed were a blank canvas tote bag, fabric paint, a small foam brush, a small craft brush, a paper doily, and spray adhesive. I already had spray adhesive and the brushes on hand, so at Michael's I just grabbed green paint (Amelia's favorite color), a pack of doilies, and a canvas tote (Michael's had choices for a few different sized and styles of bags). Maybe I should have asked Michael's for some sort of sponsorship deal since they're getting so much publicity on my blog these days! And of course my blog is read and emulated by <i>millions</i>....</div>
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I started by laying the blank bag on a table. I liked this bag because it seems like it's a good size for holding books or packing for a day trip, and the rope handles jazz it up a little from a totally plain canvas tote. (There's a rigid insert for the bottom that keeps it flat so it doesn't sag like this picture suggests, but I took it out while stenciling so that the bag would lay totally flat.)</div>
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I played around the placement of the doily on the corner of the bag, then applied the spray adhesive to the back of the doily and pressed it flat on the bag. The adhesive was essential to keeping the doily in place while I stenciled -- it would have gotten very messy and smudgy if I had just tried to hold it in place. You can see a green mat I inserted inside the bag -- this was to make sure that nothing bled through from the front side of the bag to the back (especially paint). This mat is a flexible cutting board that our neighbors threw out a few years ago and I salvaged from the trash -- Sam loves when I do things like that ;) I use it when I'm cutting with an exacto knife, painting small objects, etc.</div>
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Then I used a foam brush to apply green paint over the edges of the doily.</div>
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While the paint was still wet I peeled off the doily, which was fairly easy to do despite the adhesive and the paint. (Sorry for the poor photos, I was doing this at night in some weird lighting, so it's hard to get a sense of the true paint color, which is dark green.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtfLWIoSNBI0Yf8fvLHdXX-UDi3NxeHVLst8qq1I0obGKEcsUkVUsfnPF1u7rIP1slafmwiqg33Tw4OuFJu3DNmodQFelNkMMwCj0xqA3mkUzYvXvXX5ixGVZD8-t0FJTBirLu7Lj9-Y/s1600/IMG_0565_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtfLWIoSNBI0Yf8fvLHdXX-UDi3NxeHVLst8qq1I0obGKEcsUkVUsfnPF1u7rIP1slafmwiqg33Tw4OuFJu3DNmodQFelNkMMwCj0xqA3mkUzYvXvXX5ixGVZD8-t0FJTBirLu7Lj9-Y/s640/IMG_0565_edited-2.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I wanted to add a monogram inside the doily ring, so I found a font I liked in MS Word, made it fairly large, printed it, cut it out, and traced it onto the bag using a pencil. Then I used a small craft brush to carefully fill in the pencil outline with green paint. Here's what it looked like as I was getting started:<br />
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A few minutes later, I was left with the finished product:<br />
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This lighting shows the green paint much better. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and Amelia seemed to like it, so I'll call it a success! Frankly I'd love something like this for taking to the beach or around town, so maybe I'll make myself one soon!</div>
Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-85490049936743184952014-01-02T12:18:00.000-05:002014-01-02T12:18:54.403-05:00Homemade Christmas Part I: What do you make for a twenty-something fellow?I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and Happy New Year! It's hard to believe it's 2014.... 2013 was a busy year -- we kicked it off on the first day of the year with Sam's father getting married, in May I finished my first year of business school, in August I spent a week with my mom and stepdad on their new sail boat (which they now live on full-time, right now in the sunny and warm Bahamas), in the fall Sam got a big promotion at work, in November we ran the Philly Marathon (my first full marathon, Sam's second), we hosted our fourth annual family Thanksgiving in Boston, we spent time in VT with my family and in PA with Sam's family over Christmas and New Year's, and throughout it all we shared a lot of joyful moments with family and friends. There was also sadness and loss, most notably my uncle passing away unexpectedly at the beginning of December. It was comforting to take some time over the holidays to reflect.<br />
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We did a lot of travel over the holidays and it was wonderful to see so much family, but we're also glad to be back in Boston. I can lose sight of what a blessing it is to have a safe, comfortable place to call home, especially when I spend so much energy trying to improve it. Being away from it for weeks definitely reminds me that we're very lucky. That doesn't mean there aren't home projects in store for 2014, though! But before I get ahead of myself, I thought I'd share some DIY updates from the tail end of 2013. This year I decided to make all of my Christmas presents for my family, which was a bit of a rollercoaster. There was excitement. There was frustration. There was despair. There was pride. All things considered, it was totally worth it -- but having a full week between the end of the semester and leaving for our holiday travels definitely helped, so it likely won't be feasible again in future years when I have less free time.<br />
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Anyway, I thought I'd post about each project over the next few weeks. First up: the coasters I made my brother.<br />
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Figuring out what to make for my brother was one of the toughest presents. I really wanted to make things that first and foremost people liked and that <i>secondly</i> happened to be homemade, not just things that people felt obligated to like because they were homemade but didn't really speak to their interests or passions. But I was struggling to come up with something that my 23-year old brother would like. He has his own apartment and there are probably plenty of things I could do decor-wise for the space, but I wanted it to be something that he would <i>enjoy</i> having in his apartment, not just something that <i>I </i>thought would be nice looking. Maybe I was overthinking this, but I just didn't want to send a message like "I think you need to have new art," or "I think you should have different curtains."<br />
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Anyway, I ended up coming across an idea for <a href="http://postgradcrafting.blogspot.com/2013/09/diy-beer-coasters.html">DIY beer coasters</a> that I thought fit the bill. My brother is a beer connoisseur, having visited all of the 21 breweries in Vermont (twice), so I thought he would enjoy some functional home goods that show off his interest in beer.<br />
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The only supplies I needed were some ceramic tiles, felt, six pack holders, and mod podge. We happened to have some six pack holders left over from a recent holiday party and I already had some felt and mod podge on hand in my craft closet, so all I needed was ceramic tiles. Easier said than done since none of the hardware stores within walking/public transit distance of my apartment carry supplies like this -- they tend to have basic tools, paint, etc, but not the materials you'd need for tiling and other bigger renovation projects. I was prepared to rent a car to go to Home Depot but wanted to avoid that if possible, so while I was out running errands one afternoon in an area I don't go very often I stopped in a small hardware store just to see if they happened to have anything that fit the bill. They didn't, but suggested I ask at the flooring store next door that installs carpets and hardwood floors. They also didn't sell tiles, but the owner happened to have some ceramic tiles on hand for a personal tiling project he was doing in the upstairs of his store that he was willing to sell me for a grand total of $5 for six of them. So let it be known that the owner of <a href="http://www.cambridgerug.com/">Cambridge Rug and Flooring Company</a> is an incredibly kind and helpful person, and if you're in the market for new rugs or floors I hope you'll consider them (I can't actually speak to the quality of their rugs and floors, but they have great reviews on Yelp).<br />
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In any case, with my supplies in hand, I tackled this extremely straightforward project.<br />
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First, I cut pieces of felt slightly smaller than the size of each tile. Then I coated the bottom of each tile with mod podge and stuck the felt on (this is to protect whatever surface the coaster is placed on, since the tiles have rough, grooved bottoms). The mod podge dried within a few minutes.</div>
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Then I took my six pack holders and cut out six squares the size of each tile. I applied mod podge to each square, and pressed them firmly down on the tiles. My method was to hold each square in place for ~1 minute while the mod podge firmed up, then stack a book on top to keep the corners of the cardboard flat while the glue dried completely. I just stacked all the coasters up at the same time with a book between each one, and let them dry for about 15 minutes.<br />
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Lastly, I applied 4 coats of mod podge over the top of each coaster, letting them dry completely between coats. This is to make sure they are completely waterproof so they don't get ruined when actually used as coasters. I used a high gloss modge podge so they are very shiny (which I love), but you could also use matte mod podge if you prefer.<br />
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And that's it, tada!<br />
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My brother has beer labels that he's collected from all the breweries he's visited and I told him it would be really easy for us to make more coasters using those if he ever wants, so it could be an expanding coaster collection over time.<br />
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There are plenty more presents where this one came from, so stay tuned to learn about what else cooked up in the week before Christmas.Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-61499308816255070842013-12-14T12:34:00.002-05:002013-12-14T12:34:20.070-05:00Holiday decoratingNo matter how busy I am, I always find time to decorate for the holidays. Getting a tree and sprucing up the apartment in December is one of my favorite annual traditions. I've always wished that the holidays happened later in the winter since there will be a dismal stretch of ~4 more months of cold, wind, and snow after we ring in the New Year, but the reality is that the darkest day of the year does occur in December (though in New England, it's February that feels interminable). When I was growing up, my family celebrated both solstice and Christmas. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and our tradition was to avoid using electricity for the day. The goal was to remind ourselves of what the darkness and cold really feel like, and what a celebration of the returning of the light truly means. A lot of holiday decoration traditions -- putting up lights, bringing greenery into the home, the yule log -- are based on this original idea of trying to find lightness and warmth in the depths of the cold and darkness. When I think about why I love the holidays, this is why -- if I can ignore the incessant Christmas music in the mall and the endless consumerism, I can focus on the things that bring me joy: the lights on trees, the candles in windows, the togetherness of family. It's a reminder that as low as we might feel there is light in this darkness, and that one day spring will come again.<br />
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Anyway, enough of the spiritual pontification, and onto the DIY ramifications :) We have a small space so I try not to go too overboard with decorations, but here's what I ended up with this year:<br />
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A medium-sized tree in the corner of the living room, plus lights behind the sheer curtains to add some extra sparkle: (pardon the dim lighting, but I took it at night so the Christmas lights are visible)<br />
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A Christmas mantle:<br />
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This is the first year I've had a garland of any sort. Initially I decorated without it, but I felt like the mantle was too sparse and the green wreath (also a first) felt out of place. So I grabbed some boxwood sprigs when we were at Home Depot picking up our tree, and I love what they add.<br />
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A Christmas-y vignette on the dresser in the study:<br />
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Something small next to the TV stand:<br />
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And a wreath on the front door:<br />
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This is a plain wreath from Michael's (for $5.99) -- I added some cloth flowers and then used a gold ribbon to hang it over the door.<br />
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It's nothing dramatic, but it certainly makes things feel cozier as the temperature outside plummets and the sun sets before 4:30pm (yesterday it set at 4:11pm...). Stay warm everyone!Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-22599748148819073172013-11-08T18:30:00.000-05:002013-11-08T18:30:02.257-05:00Greening the living roomI've been kicking myself about DIY and the blog lately...I've been doing very little on the DIY front, and I'm missing it in my life. It's true that things are busy, but more than that I've been feeling very uninspired. I was working on one project for awhile but decided to scrap it after I didn't like the results, and I've had a hard time coming up with other projects. Frankly, I think I may be reaching the end of the work on our apartment. Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect. But I'm not going to embark on significant structural changes or anything, and I also don't want to sink too much more money into this place since we're starting to think about saving up for a place of our own. ("Thinking about saving up for" rather than "saving up for" since I'm still in school and thus, as we would say in business school, we're currently "cash flow negative.")<br />
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However, in the meantime I've been pining for some DIY -- it's a nice contrast to the analytical work I do for school, a creative outlet that I really enjoy. I did have a little fun helping Sam start decorating his new office, but there's only so much you can do in a professional workplace. I think things are trending in the right direction, though. I decided to sign up for a sewing class at the local Adult Education Center for this winter, which should be fun. Plus we're hosting a lot of family for Thanksgiving and then holding a big holiday party in mid-December, so the decorating and party planning will keep me busy. Plus the task of planning our wedding continues. And in the meantime, I made a purchase that has transformed our living room: a new rug.</div>
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We got a rug for the space two years ago from a business that sells carpet remnants near my hometown, and it was so great for the space. We went from this:</div>
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To this (ignore the "NOW," that's just from when I did Before and Afters this summer and I can't find the original textless image):</div>
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(obviously there were some other changes besides a new rug)</div>
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I do love the hardwood floors, but they are very thin and we sit right above the unfinished basement so the rug adds some draft protection in the winter. Plus I think it helps tie the disparate furniture together a bit more so it all looks a little more cohesive.</div>
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But it turns out that we're not responsible enough to own such a light colored rug. At this point, there are a few too many discolorations that we were unable to get out despite significant cleaning. Surprisingly the stain from when I spilled an entire glass of red wine came out pretty easily, but we also have a cat who likes to spit up hairballs on occasion, mud tracked through our home from running shoes, etc. Usually when I tell Sam I'm thinking about changing something in the apartment, he isn't quite sure -- so when I broached replacing the rug, I was expecting him to say something like: "but we already have a rug." But instead he said, "yeah, we really need a new one." So that gave me the confidence to make an investment in something new -- 8x10 rugs aren't cheap, but we found one marked down on Overstock that I thought would look great in the space. We could have saved maybe $100 to buy a crappier rug, but one of the things I really believe is that sometimes it's worth investing in something that is nice and will really last -- especially when the cheaper alternative isn't really that much cheaper.</div>
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Picking rugs kind of terrifies me because it has such a big impact on the space, plus I don't have too much rug buying experience. But I was determined to find something great for the space. Often when I'm contemplating a change or assessing something I've already done it helps me to look at a photo of the space -- for some reason I'm able to evaluate it much more easily. So I sat staring at a photo of our living room, and what it told me is: a more lively accent rug could be fun, and light green might be a great color because it would tie into the roman blinds I made a few years ago. I knew we had to stick with something light because the cat hair shows so much less, and though I wanted something that could hide stains a bit better than a white rug, I didn't want it to look dirty from cat hair if we didn't vacuum it daily (which we are guaranteed not to do).</div>
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So I pulled the trigger, and here's how it looks:</div>
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I'm a big fan, though I think maybe I want to move it a little to the left?</div>
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Okay, now is the time to admit the somewhat shameful secret. Why was I so confident that the rug would look good? Because as I continued to look at it on the Overstock website, I realized that I had seen it before: my favorite bloggers have the exact same rug. And the exact same couch. That was enough to make me question buying it, because it feels a little creepy to be replicating their living room. But I really though it would look perfect. So we'll just stick with "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," and accept the fact that they are design geniuses and why reinvent the wheel when they have taste that clearly just works.</div>
Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-59045217627885283222013-09-27T16:43:00.000-04:002013-09-27T16:43:20.717-04:00Fall mantleThe days are getting shorter and colder, and as much as I try to deny it, we've really settled into fall. (Note: I actually love fall weather, but it never seems to last long enough before the winter kicks in so I always treat it more like a precursor to my least favorite season rather than a nice time of year in its own right...I should probably work on that.) I was kind of obsessed with the mantle arrangement I did over the summer so I was procrastinating on changing it, but on a recent day off of school I was doing some seasonal things like putting the down comforter on the bed, and it finally felt like time to break out the fall decor.<br />
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Here's what I had going on over the summer:<br />
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So much blue and turquoise, my favorite. The small tulips are ceramic candle holders from Michael's, and the birdcage is also from Michael's. The small metal birds were given to us by Sam's mom as a Christmas gift -- she gave one to all the siblings and stepsiblings, and they're supposed to bring good luck. The print is from one of my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/erinjaneshop?ref=search_shop_redirect">favorite vendors</a> on Etsy -- it says "Today will be the best day ever." The framed photo is one that Sam's brother took several seconds after we got engaged, and the blue vases are from Goodwill.</div>
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I was sad to change things out because I just love the colors so much, but it's time to embrace fall and all the wonderful things it has to offer like mulled apple cider, cooler running weather, warm socks, the weight of the down comforter on the bed, flannel pajamas, and not showing up to school drenched in sweat.</div>
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So here's a fall mantle to celebrate the changing of the seasons:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwA-tJPG2o87dNGtTLalyLBiwUapumq40nG3AoTpbH-EZHQZ7rcZA8K3ZLWD3O78LpBslkO_u6uasvAXhg7ls1KfTe9vK1EpcgISdhjrx7yaDIgByeIVrnA8O1rLVL6T0BXK4thUSngPQ/s1600/fall+mantle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwA-tJPG2o87dNGtTLalyLBiwUapumq40nG3AoTpbH-EZHQZ7rcZA8K3ZLWD3O78LpBslkO_u6uasvAXhg7ls1KfTe9vK1EpcgISdhjrx7yaDIgByeIVrnA8O1rLVL6T0BXK4thUSngPQ/s640/fall+mantle.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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My usual approach to this kind of decorating is the following:</div>
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1) Use a few things that I keep on hand in my craft closet for each season. For instance, the foliage print (which is a photo of my hometown in the autumn that my family gave me after I moved to Boston) comes out every fall.</div>
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2) Wander around the apartment grabbing things that have been living elsewhere. For example, the smaller frame is a silk print that Sam brought home from China that I had in the dining nook. I saw the colors and thought it would be perfect for the fall color scheme, and then I realized that it was two birds and it made me think of geese migrating south which is always one of the most familiar sights/sounds of autumn (I think they're actually cranes, but whatever). The small red/orange/blue bowl (originally from Michael's) was also commandeered from elsewhere in the apartment -- it was on the built-in bar holding wine corks -- and I filled it with potpourri that had been in yet another container on the shelves in the study. The large white vase with faux craspedia (which I made out of orange felt a few years ago) was sitting on the turquoise dresser in the study.</div>
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3) Buy a few new things as needed. For this mantle I just grabbed a few tiny pumpkins/gourds at the grocery store on my way home from work. So all told, the new mantle arrangement cost me $3.50.</div>
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Then there are a few items that I tend to keep on the mantle no matter what, like the glass barometer that we found for $15 at Goodwill like 5 years ago and the photo of me and Sam getting engaged.</div>
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So there you have it, a mantle to help me get into the fall spirit.</div>
Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665096387145032971.post-65185247358387463012013-09-24T12:28:00.001-04:002013-09-24T12:28:36.692-04:00Testing my luckAs expected, the frequency of my blogging has plummeted precipitously since I started school earlier this month (has it been less than a month??). I haven't found much time to fit in apartment projects, though I have had the pleasure of helping my friend Zoe with a few things -- painting and miscellaneous home improvement -- in the new apartment she moved into. I also had the pleasure of accompanying her to IKEA to pick up some things for her new place, where I ended up making an unexpected purchase: a kitchen cart.<br />
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To be fair, it wasn't totally out of the blue. As part of the kitchen makeover, I'd been wanting a kitchen cart, but they're so darn expensive and I couldn't find one that felt quite worth the investment. I wanted to use it to replace the table we have, which is great as a table but is uncomfortably low for being used as additional counterspace (which is essentially what we do with it except when we are using it to host a large group each year for Thanksgiving).<br />
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As we wrapped up our odyssey through the IKEA showroom and marketplace, I suggested we take a look at the "as-is" section where sometimes you can find good deals on things that aren't quite to quality standards or are missing a piece or something. That's when I spotted this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DHdvwCPJ-6AaLVezsGE7toxszxUL7jatJTN7vIty_bPGA6fIS4XnBWlRoyO4pVLD4WDOyNMk3YKZT8kA38CIFElQDBzACfC0iH71d_6658UIsSj1yfIs6wpDWG9KhM7hfoLVLNE0tdQ/s1600/stenstorp-kitchen-cart__0129791_PE283880_S4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DHdvwCPJ-6AaLVezsGE7toxszxUL7jatJTN7vIty_bPGA6fIS4XnBWlRoyO4pVLD4WDOyNMk3YKZT8kA38CIFElQDBzACfC0iH71d_6658UIsSj1yfIs6wpDWG9KhM7hfoLVLNE0tdQ/s640/stenstorp-kitchen-cart__0129791_PE283880_S4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Stenstorp (just rolls off the tongue), marked down from $199 to $99. I inspected it closely, and couldn't figure out exactly why it was so deeply discounted -- maybe a little discoloration on the top (solid oak), but nothing beyond that. I hemmed and hawed since $99 is still more than the $0 it costs to keep our current table in place, but ultimately I reasoned that I was likely to cave at some point down the road so I may as well snag something so high quality while it was on sale (IKEA does sell other kitchen carts for less than $100 full price, but they have always seemed a bit too small or flimsy for me -- this one is a solid oak top with stainless steel shelves).</div>
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The next challenge was trying to figure out if it would fit in Zoe's car. As-is items are non-returnable, so if we wheeled it out to the parking lot and it didn't fit, we'd just have to abandon it or something. Or maybe sell it in the parking lot? It's like I've learned nothing in business school.... Of course I hadn't brought my measuring tape since I didn't expect to be buying anything, so I used a highly precise system where I measured the various dimensions using the length of my legs (ie, it's waist high and mid-thigh long), then went out to the car -- while Zoe waited in line -- and contorted my legs all over the various dimensions of the car to see if we could squeeze it through the back door or trunk. It seemed like it would be close, but doable. I was a little apprehensive because I have this habit of buying things that fit within an inch or two of whatever vehicle I happen to have (usually a zipcar), and I wasn't sure if my luck would continue or this would be the time it would finally run out.</div>
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Turns out my luck held, but this was the closest call yet -- 1/8th of an inch larger and this would not have fit through the back door. Even so, when we got it home we couldn't get it out one side and had to maneuver it out the side we originally put it in through -- so close a call that a minor discrepancy between the doors on the left vs right side of the car made the difference. Zoe was awesome and a good sport...after all, we'd gone there to get some things for her and ended up lugging home a piece of furniture for me (she also found some of the things she needed, though).</div>
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Here's the table we had in place previously:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2G_Yp4m6EOOY_-9Us5XKxXfiQ6MlXwy4UqHHKSEM3mS1qQxd28dKomCH7AdqSMjKz9GEWUU7oOHM_26syggp5UI46NvBTNIYZ0jPCO6uEHrgHxofHbudZRdYJrr7pqoXYPpeXiXfmIJ8/s1600/DIY+coffee+pot+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2G_Yp4m6EOOY_-9Us5XKxXfiQ6MlXwy4UqHHKSEM3mS1qQxd28dKomCH7AdqSMjKz9GEWUU7oOHM_26syggp5UI46NvBTNIYZ0jPCO6uEHrgHxofHbudZRdYJrr7pqoXYPpeXiXfmIJ8/s640/DIY+coffee+pot+art.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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It's a great table, and we just moved it to the basement for now so we can bring it out when we host large groups and use it in a future home when we have space to use it as a table (as opposed to the current setup where it serves as extra counter space because we can't fit chairs around it).</div>
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And here's the cart in its place:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvBo8qsLizPVgFzFnCXRgJGu6CtMhX8Qim8bcdnqlaGqZbpqWzYzBbwwdTioiBF3S2Mt7PkYYFZEux2zPmQOXfD7c4VUNxMiQuv5C4zJXrkInhyphenhyphenbiRuE2pVpmlV9rF8ySlRwKaiJ1Wcc/s1600/Kitchen+cart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvBo8qsLizPVgFzFnCXRgJGu6CtMhX8Qim8bcdnqlaGqZbpqWzYzBbwwdTioiBF3S2Mt7PkYYFZEux2zPmQOXfD7c4VUNxMiQuv5C4zJXrkInhyphenhyphenbiRuE2pVpmlV9rF8ySlRwKaiJ1Wcc/s640/Kitchen+cart.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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It fits pretty perfectly between the two windows, and is just the right height for food prep. I'm pretty pleased with my IKEA luck!</div>
Sagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17207135322130360095noreply@blogger.com0